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Cornelius Völker
In the Last Light, 25 February - 19 March 2022
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Cornelius Völker : In the Last Light

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Overview
"In the Last Light" installation view
"In the Last Light" installation view

Cornelius Völker explores the thorny relationships we humans have with nature and time in a series of paintings that, while rooted in conventions of historical European painting, are eminently contemporary.

 

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a group of heroically-scaled works of luxuriant foliage.  Theatrically illuminated, the vegetation emerges out of gloom.  The paint is exuberantly brushy and the colors unnatural, making the work simultaneously luscious, psychedelic and somewhat ominous.   No sun dappled garden or picturesque vista here; these look like the densely tangled forest in which Hansel and Gretel got lost.

 

Paired with the unorthodox landscapes in this show are still life paintings akin to those of the golden age of Dutch painting.  Jars of pickled foodstuffs — cucumbers, herring filets, beets and white asparagus — glow softly in the shimmer of a candle stub.  In other paintings, a kidney floats in a dusty specimen jar or two hearts lie next to one another under a harsh light.   

 

Dutch stilleven, meaning “motionless” or “silent,” were carefully staged arrangements of perishable foods — ripe fruit, sumptuous shellfish, oysters and meats — laid out on Chinese porcelain and polished silver, arranged with flowers and Venetian glass, and displayed on a Turkish rug-draped table.  Celebrations of opulence, material beauty and sensuality, their message is that life is brief; live it while you can. 

 

But they’re also paintings about lavish consumption.  In the 17th century, the Low Countries exploded economically.  The newly rich merchant class was eager to show off the luxury their global commerce-based wealth was able to purchase.  This was the first international, consumer-based culture, and they pursued it with abandon. 

 

As the Dutch paintings reflect the social and cultural climate of their time, Cornelius Völker’s paintings mirror contemporary concerns.     

 

Our relationship to nature has never been simple.  We rely on the natural world for resources, while we exploit and defile it.  We romanticize nature, but most of us are completely cut off from it.  We fret over global warming and the extinction of species, yet are unwilling to make the inconvenient personal choices that would make a difference.  With rising sea levels, extreme weather conditions, pandemics and perpetual wild fire seasons, nature, in the 21st century, may prove more threatening than ever.  The Blätter (Leaves) paintings reflect this ambivalence – both seductively beautiful and anxiety provoking.  

 

And while Völker’s burning candle signals the inevitable passage of time, the jarred condiments allude to our attempt to stop it.  In these pictures, the food never spoils.  But neither is it mouthwatering, sumptuous or exotic.  It’s cheap, mass-produced and sterile in its brine.  How dulled by lives of affluence have we become?  Are we so obsessed with youth, with arresting time and living forever, that we never actually taste life?

 

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Works
  • Bunch of white asparagus with purple background.
    Cornelius Völker
    Spargel (Asparagus), 2021
    oil on canvas
    31 1/2 x 23 5/8 in
    80 x 60 cm
  • Burning candle on silver candle stick with jar of pickled asparagus.
    Cornelius Völker
    Kerze mit Spargel (Candle with Asparagus), 2021
    oil on canvas
    29 1/2 x 19 3/4 in
    75 x 50 cm
  • Tall vase with purple/brown roses with petals and leaves falling.
    Cornelius Völker
    Vase (Vase), 2021
    oil on canvas
    86 5/8 x 43 1/4 in
    220 x 110 cm
  • Burning candle with jars of pickled vegetables, lemons, and lemon squeezer.
    Cornelius Völker
    Kerze mit Eingelegtem (Candle with Pickles), 2021
    oil on canvas
    39 3/8 x 31 1/2 in
    100 x 80 cm
  • Heart in glass casserole dish.
    Cornelius Völker
    Herz (Heart), 2021
    oil on canvas
    19 3/4 x 21 5/8 in
    50 x 55 cm
  • Short burning candle on silver stick with large jar of pickles.
    Cornelius Völker
    Kerze mit Gurken (Candle with Pickles), 2021
    oil on canvas
    51 1/8 x 35 3/8 in
    130 x 90 cm
  • Green leaves in pink lighting.
    Cornelius Völker
    Blätter (Leaves), 2021
    oil on canvas
    118 1/8 x 78 3/4 in
    300 x 200 cm
  • Green leaves reflecting orange, purple, and blue light.
    Cornelius Völker
    Blätter (Leaves), 2021
    oil on canvas
    118 1/8 x 78 3/4 in
    300 x 200 cm
  • Bright indigo leaves in red lighting.
    Cornelius Völker
    Blätter (Leaves), 2021
    oil on canvas
    118 1/8 x 78 3/4 in
    300 x 200 cm
  • Stem with three leaves placed upside down on white surface.
    Cornelius Völker
    Blatt (Leaf), 2021
    oil on canvas
    19 3/4 x 27 1/2 in
    50 x 70 cm
  • Stem with leaves on white surface.
    Cornelius Völker
    Blatt (Leaf), 2021
    oil on canvas
    19 3/4 x 27 1/2 in
    50 x 70 cm
  • Stem with leaves placed on white surface.
    Cornelius Völker
    Blatt (Leaf), 2021
    oil on canvas
    19 3/4 x 27 1/2 in
    50 x 70 cm
  • Assortment of pickled items in jars with slices of lemon, a burning candle, and hard boiled egg on a slicer.
    Cornelius Völker
    Kerze mit Eingelegtem (Candle with Pickles), 2021
    oil on canvas
    74 3/4 x 59 1/8 in
    190 x 150 cm
  • Plants bathed in a red glow with two green leaves in forefront.
    Cornelius Völker
    Blätter (Leaves), 2021
    oil on canvas
    63 x 70 7/8 in
    160 x 180 cm
  • Bunch of white asparagus with green rubber band.
    Cornelius Völker
    Spargel (Asparagus), 2021
    oil on canvas
    31 1/2 x 23 5/8 in
    80 x 60 cm
  • Three jars of pickled vegetables with burning candle on silver candlestick with slices of lemon with squeezer.
    Cornelius Völker
    Kerze mit Eingelegtem (Candle with Pickles), 2021
    oil on canvas
    78 3/4 x 59 1/8 in
    200 x 150 cm
  • Kidney suspended in jar with yellow formaldehyde.
    Cornelius Völker
    Niere (Kidney), 2021
    oil on canvas
    43 1/4 x 29 1/2 in
    110 x 75 cm
  • Two hearts on beige surface.
    Cornelius Völker
    Zwei Herzen (Two Hearts), 2021
    oil on canvas
    27 1/2 x 39 3/8 in
    70 x 100 cm
Installation Views
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News
  • HG Magazine Issue no. 36

    HG Magazine Issue no. 36

    Cornelius Völker, Angelina Pwerle, Max Gimblett & William T. Wiley Read more

Related artist

  • Cornelius Völker

    Cornelius Völker

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