Heribert C. Ottersbach

Heribert C. Ottersbach (*1960 in Cologne) attempts nothing less in his artistic work than a reevaluation of modernity. Using found materials and his own drawings, the painter develops his visual ideas, many of which include architectural subjects, which for him are “abstract, geometric figurations of a society disciplined by ‘education.’” Ottersbach’s depictions of architecture sometimes have ironic, sarcastic titles, such as The Rediscovery of the Bauhaus Prompted by the Spirit of the Postmodern Arbor (2002) or The New School of Athens (2002). Clearly referring to his fundamentally critical attitude toward modernity and its manifestations, the artist’s distanced, scrutinizing visual language plumbs the depths of its utopian content and its loss of meaning.   Heribert C. Ottersbach: recipient of the 2007 Wilhelm Loth prize   Exhibition schedule: Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt, May 11–September 7, 2008