Steffen Kern: Light cuts through darkness but not through fog
Steffen Kern's new solo show explores the relationship between the overflowing amount of images that fill our day-to-day lives and one's memory.
Kern has a great fascination for pictures used in newspapers, which play an ever-increasing role in attracting audiences to read articles. His work touches upon a contemporary issue in which we are overwhelmed by a continuous stream of images on a daily basis that become unconsciously stored in our collective memory. Kern calls this abundance of mass-produced and digital images a "globalization of images". In his work he responds to this development creating new images with recognizable photographic aesthetics, making us reflect on how images leave a lasting impression in one's memory.
By disguising his drawings as photographs, he deceives the viewer by luring them into a visual trap. A bedroom in dark red evening light, an abandoned hotel room in black and white and a burning house, it seems as if the camera stopped recording for a moment. Kern works with pencil, ink, and charcoal on paper: a traditional medium that he uses in a contemporary style. He works in both vibrant colors and black and white, a style that is uniquely characterized by luminous contrasts and soft contours. He uses the aesthetic features of photography, such as blur, depth of field, and overexposure, to create a photographic feel. He is not trying to imitate images; instead, he is showing how images are stored in his collective memory.
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Steffen Kern, Barn, 2022
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Steffen Kern, Pan and Egg, 2022
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Steffen Kern, Light, Bed, Window and TV, 2022
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Steffen Kern, Impact, 2022
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Steffen Kern, Hotel Room, 2022
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Steffen Kern, Guillotine, 2022
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Steffen Kern, Guard Tower, 2022
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Steffen Kern, Fridge, 2022
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Steffen Kern, Burning House, 2022
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Steffen Kern, Asteroid, 2023
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Steffen Kern, Chair, 2023
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Steffen Kern, Container Crane, 2023
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Steffen Kern, Hallway Door, 2023
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Steffen Kern, House, 2023
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Steffen Kern, House with Fence Gate, 2023
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Steffen Kern, House, Rain, 2023
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Steffen Kern, Searchlights, 2022
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Steffen Kern, Teapot, 2022
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Steffen Kern, Pie, 2023
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Steffen Kern, Office, 2023
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Steffen Kern, Woman, Window, 2023
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Steffen Kern, Hunting Stand, 2023
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Steffen Kern, Fence Gate, 2023
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Steffen Kern, Pan and Steak, 2023
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Steffen Kern, Seat, 2023
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Steffen Kern, Court Room, 2021
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Steffen Kern, Discussion, 2021
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Steffen Kern, Mountain III, 2021
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Steffen Kern, Hallway, 2021
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Steffen Kern, Lightning, 2020
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Steffen Kern, Mountain, 2021
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Steffen Kern, O.T. (Facade), 2019
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Steffen Kern, Rocket, 2020