Svoboda / Freiheit

Gallery Karlovy Vary, Karlsbad 2018

Oskar Stocker’s cycle of paintings Svoboda / Freiheit was shown at the Gallery of Art Karlovy Vary. The exhibition took place on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the republic, which also marked 50 years since the Red Army invaded Czechoslovakia. Stocker’s artistic exploration is guided by the leitmotif of man and his intrinsic form as well as his manifold relationships and encounters.
In addition to spontaneous expressive drawings, characteristic of Stocker’s current work is a particular reduction in color that often leads to a selective or even monochrome tonality. For this exhibited cycle of paintings the artist uses tent cloth from the Russian army, which adds to the work’s character with its faded khaki color.
Filling a room in the Gallery of Art Karlovy Vary is the reprise of the project never forget – eingesperrt, for which the artist created a comprehensive cycle of portraits from his circle of friends and acquaintances – from living people in the contemporary moment. With an unconventional hand he adapted facial expressions caused by war trauma or imprisonment in concentration camps to their realistic countenances.