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The gallery shows work from the french photographer Gilbert Garcin and the chinese-american photographer Peikwen Cheng. Black-and-White photographed work from both artists will be presented in this double exhibition.
The exhibition will open on Saturday, 8th of November, 6 pm - 21pm.

Gilbert Garcin
In the most ironic self-portraits by the photographer Gilbert Garcin the entire range of human comedy seems to be created. Each of his minimalist photographs is like a theatrical act to obscure the stage of life.
Gilbert Garcin is not only the director, stage builder and photographer of his productions, but at the same time the main protagonist of his pictures. There is hardly a picture of Garcin, on which he is not seen himself. Stylized as a daily figure in the tradition of a comic-worthy Monsieur Hulot, Garcin goes through his own odyssey, in which social criticism, humor and a strong sensitivity to everyday stories are determining factors.

The incredible story of Gilbert Garcin, aka Mister G, began nearly 20 years ago. This retired Marseille native discovered his passion for photography after an internship at the Rencontres d’Arles. He specializes in photomontage. From his makeshift studio in La Ciotat, armed with a pair of scissors and a few accessories, Garcin cuts up photographs of himself, creating worlds reminiscent of the films of Jacques Tati and Alfred Hitchcock. The artists raises existential questions but modestly refrains from providing any answers.

His photographs have been sought after by collectors and gallerists around the world. Garcin is represented by in focus gallery in Cologne, and his works are included in several permanent collections.

Peikwen Cheng
Peikwen Cheng was born in 1975 in the states of New York. His father comes from Tongzhou, Beijing and his mother was born in Chongqing. Studying product design at Stanford university, he lived in Taipei, helsinki and San Francisco. Later, he studied at Qinghua university in Beijing. Since 2007 he lives and works as a photographer and designer in Beijing and New York.Beaches, deserts and paltry environments seem to grab Cheng's fascination and attention. Yet, he mainly enthusiasticly tells a story about agglomerating energies of one or many people who follow their self-sustaining visions, mostly expressed in just a single moment. Everything took place in 2000 when Peikwen decided to start out to the Burning Man Festival - a californian experimental art community festival - in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. There, he had that idea of catching and generating dreams and wishes, private moments in public spaces in spontaneous collaboration. He calls it "Lost and Found" - that's the vastness in the background and the visualization of lived illusions and their stories in the foreground.

It's all about change in my work, says Cheng. Life is in constant evolution with all its (dis-)advantages and multiple perspectives. I want to understand, to make it present and to fix the emerging energies.

author: Stefanie Thiedig

Exhibition dates: november 8th to december 20th 2014