BERLIN.- In 2011, Wagner + Partner curated the groundbreaking survey exhibition Linocut Reloaded. Seven years later, the gallery returns to scrutinise the linocut according to its versatility and expressivity. Showcasing two Berlin artists—Claas Gutsche and Philipp Hennevogl—and two Leipzig artists—Benjamin Dittrich and Sebastian Speckmann—the exhibition investigates the medium’s current and varied orientations.

Benjamin Dittrich (b. 1987) emerged from letterpress printing and expands on the print spectrum by instating and transforming familiar elements of symbolic language—especially those from scientific books—into graphic, colourful tableaux.

Claas Gutsche (b. 1982), whom the Gallery has represented for many years, continues to question the rise and fall in the context of architecture. Following his critical engagement with socialist and National Socialist structures, his current investigations explore these ideologies within the Bauhaus tradition.

Philipp Hennevogl (b. 1968) draws our attention to the flaneur’s characteristics: trivial, whether big or small or perhaps even banal everyday objects are translated through skilful cuts on the plate into elegant black-and-white imagery.

Sebastian Speckmann (b. 1982), who recently showcased a solo exhibition at the Franz Gertsch Museum, exhibits new motifs that, in their sophistication, appropriate visual marketing á la Instagram. Yet, while virtually denying such marketing, the works, metaphorically speaking, remain true to the medium. All this appears to be embedded in the visual cosmos of the Leipzig School.

Each of these four German artists is representative of the diversity and innovative power of a medium that, in times of omnipresent digitization, not only preserves its individuality but also successively goes beyond it. A renewed view of the linocut provides viewers with an entry point to become more familiar with this rich artistic scene.