About the Exhibit - Rain
Olaf Breuning’s exhibit, Rain, is on view at Metro Pictures Gallery in New York from December 10th, 2020, until February 27th, 2021.
The main theme this exhibit touches on is the environment, and how the choices of humanity have created an impending threat to natural ecosystems.
“Olaf Breuning presents RAIN, an exhibition of colorful new woodcut landscape paintings and carved stone sculptures that draw upon the natural world to consider the pressing environmental concerns we face today.” (source)
The title ‘Rain’ is referring to violent weather we’ve been experiencing in the form of hurricanes, etc. that have been induced, no doubt by climate change.
“Evoking meteorological maps of turbulent weather, the paintings are a metaphor for the rapid pace climate change is affecting our environment, which is in constant disarray.” (source)
The materials that Olaf Breuning uses align perfectly with the theme of the exhibit. He uses natural materials such as woodcuts as well as stone sculptures.
“The imagery made with the carved blocks––shapes of waves, stars, raindrops, and blades of grass––conjures a time before technology was at the heart of our lives, when we lived more in tune with our natural surroundings.” (source)
The stone sculptures featured in the exhibit are of animals that are watching their ecosystems being destroyed.
“The carved stone sculptures in the exhibition are from a series called Sad and Worried Animals. These works attempt to imagine that the animals comprehend the processes altering their habitats and humanity's destructive impact on the environment.” (source)
They have large glass eyes that are meant to convey sadness, that will (hopefully) evoke empathy in the viewer and leave them to consider the impact of their own actions on the environment.
“The artist hopes that they are also a call to action, or at the very least, a reason to rethink our relationship with nature and the consequences of our actions.” (source)
Video of the Exhibit
To see a walkthrough of the exhibit, skip ahead to 8:42 in the video below.
About the Artist - Olaf Breuning
Olaf Breuning was born in 1970 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and lives and works in New York.
He’s known for a variety of mediums - Artist, Sculpture, Drawing, Photography, and Video. He participated in the 2008 Whitney Biennial.
You can learn more about the artist on his website and Instagram.
