Franz Ackermann
Multiple Locations

For his first exhibition at Templon NY, German artist Franz Ackermann continues to explore his concept of an evolving exhibition with Multiple Locations. Fruit of an in-depth reflection over several years on the notion of physical and mental displacement, this selection of previously unseen oils on canvas and a site-specific installation follow on from A Range of Thoughts in Paris and Don’t Move-Travel in Brussels in 2022.

With each exhibition leading him to new destinations, the sense of displacement is what feeds the nomadic artist's practice. On the canvas, he mixes random memories together with explosive colours and strong emotions inspired by his many travels. His mental maps with their exuberant palette of hues combine fragments of photographs and outlines of skyscrapers in a subtle nod to the legendary seething energy of the megalopolis that never sleeps, trying to find a way through the countless blocks of paint that are striking in their imperfection. What Ackermann is proposing here is a totally transformable experimental game. These windows on the world seize on the ordinary perception of modernity all the better to transfigure it and bring to life a contemporary conundrum rooted in a life of explorations.