Laura Sachs + Udo Nöger | Stille Schichten in unserem Inneren / Layered Notions | ARTCO Galerie Berlin | 26.04.-22.06.2024

As part of the exhibition, Laura Sachs and Udo Nöger initiate a formal dialogue that explores the contrasting aspects of their painting: surface and depth, simplicity and complexity, boldness and silence. They engage in a relationship between form and light, inviting viewers to enter the spaces their works create.

Udo Nöger achieves depth in his work through the construction of partially painted and cut canvases. Layer by layer, he stretches these on the frame, creating a unique translucency. The semi-transparent fabric panels result in images that capture light and energy, questioning our connection to the essence of life itself. From monochrome gray surfaces emerge forms in shades of blue, light violet, or silvery hues that aim to exhibit the luminescence of color (the optical radiation observed during the transition from a neutral state to an electrically charged state). In his recent paper works, created in Florida during the winter of 2022-23, Nöger incorporates charcoal, with his gestural strokes reflecting his desire for spontaneity and sincerity.

“Each work must be right from the start. Nothing is shifted around or overly thought through. Everything should be allowed to come and go and be executed directly. That is what matters to me. That’s why I work with paper,” says Udo Nöger.

In contrast, Laura Sachs complements her primed canvases with materials like metal, wood, fabric, or studio dust. She creates multi-perspective objects that, despite their clear and minimalist compositions and the sometimes heavy metal strips, evoke a sense of dynamism. Her tableaus assert themselves as visual bodies within space and transform, much like Nöger’s works, when the viewer’s perspective or the light changes. Sachs’ pieces are composed of multiple viewpoints and various materials. The Berlin-based artist reveals the processual nature of her work—through washed-out layers of paint or porous structures—compelling the viewer to engage with their physicality.

In this blend of elements and textures, Sachs and Nöger intersect, offering an impression of the quiet layers within the human psyche.

“In philosophy, one delves to the core of things. This approach continues to define my artistic pursuit,” states Laura Sachs.

Udo Nöger, born in 1961 in Enger (North Rhine-Westphalia), studied painting from 1980-1983 at the University of Applied Sciences in Bielefeld. As a recipient of a scholarship from the Heinz Nixdorf Institute, he moved to the USA, where he has lived and worked for over thirty years. Nöger has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. His works are included in major private and public collections such as The Art Institute of Chicago and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Laura Sachs (b. 1985 in Darmstadt) initially studied philosophy and art in Frankfurt a.M. and, in 2013, moved to the Düsseldorf Art Academy. Coming from a background in painting, she continued her studies in the sculpture classes of Professors Hubert Kiecol and Gregor Schneider, graduating in 2018 as a master student under Schneider. Her work has been shown in numerous national and international exhibitions, including institutions like K21, Kunstsammlung NRW, and Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf. She currently lives and works in Berlin.