Albrecht Schnider

The Solothurn exhibition focuses on Albrecht Schnider's sculptures and paper works from the past 25 years. These works have so far been presented to the public far less than Schnider's paintings, although they are indispensable for his artistic oeuvre, as Christoph Vögele states: “Without Schnider's drawings as sources, his other works of art, especially his paintings, with which he is most familiar today, would not be able to emerge”.

“Behind the Mirror” alludes to the behavioral scientist Konrad Lorenz (1903-1989). Like Lorenz, the artist is interested in processes of knowledge, in particular in questioning the methods and limits of this field of research. The catalogue starts with the early charcoal portrait drawings of the early 1990s up to the painting series of the 'empty' heads, which was completed a few years ago. The works on paper are juxtaposed with the small sculptures created from 2000 onwards - strikingly small plinth works made from (studio) waste, which look like models or ideas for works still to be executed. It would probably be more appropriate to call them assemblages.

Despite their lightness and small format, Schnider's drawings and sculptures achieve an indelible pictorial effect that can be admired in this book in a multitude of illustrations.