David Schutter: Night Work

Reception for the artist:
Saturday, November 11, 2-5pm
In conjunction with Gallery Weekend Chicago

David Schutter’s second exhibition with Rhona Hoffman Gallery contemplates an 1852 nocturnal still life tableau painted by Adolph Menzel, the subject of which was the German artist’s own studio wall in his Berlin home. Thrown into relief by lamplight, Menzel’s wall holds some of the tools of his trade; youthful arms cast in plaster are hung akimbo above the wax cast of a flayed human hand, a skull sits on a shelf in the dark, a palette leans adroitly against the wall. Menzel, in this incredible work, reflects on the persistence of objects that continue to speak beyond the end of day; his studio aid memoires stare back at him in the dark as he attempts to come to terms with the limitations of knowledge, finitude, sight, and skill.