Rainer Spangl: A. G. O. A. S. E.

10.03.–15.04.2023

Rainer Spangl
Exhibition view, A. G. O. A. S. E., Galerie Martin Janda, 2023
Photo: kunstdokumentation.com

Rainer Spangl
Exhibition view, A. G. O. A. S. E., Galerie Martin Janda, 2023
Photo: kunstdokumentation.com

Rainer Spangl
Exhibition view, A. G. O. A. S. E., Galerie Martin Janda, 2023
Photo: kunstdokumentation.com

Rainer Spangl
Exhibition view, A. G. O. A. S. E., Galerie Martin Janda, 2023
Photo: kunstdokumentation.com

Rainer Spangl
Exhibition view, A. G. O. A. S. E., Galerie Martin Janda, 2023
oil on canvas

Rainer Spangl
Exhibition view, A. G. O. A. S. E., Galerie Martin Janda, 2023
Photo: kunstdokumentation.com

Rainer Spangl
Exhibition view, A. G. O. A. S. E., Galerie Martin Janda, 2023
Photo: kunstdokumentation.com

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2023
oil on canvas
210 x 170 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2021
oil on canvas
35 x 25 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2023
oil on canvas
35 x 25 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2021
oil on canvas
35 x 25 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2020
oil on canvas
35 x 25 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2021
oil on canvas
35 x 25 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2021
oil on canvas
35 x 25 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2020
oil on canvas
35 x 25 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2021
oil on canvas
35 x 25 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2023
oil on canvas
210 x 170 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2014
oil on canvas
44 x 36 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2022
oil on canvas
40 x 30 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2022
oil on canvas
105 x 85 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2016
oil on canvas
35 x 25 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2015
oil on canvas
46 x 32 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2015
oil on canvas
46 x 32 cm

Rainer Spangl
Untitled, 2015
oil on canvas
46 x 32 cm

Opening: Thursday, 09th March 2023, 7−9pm
Duration: 10th March until 15th April 2023

Galerie Martin Janda presents the first solo exhibition of Rainer Spangl from the 10th of March to the 15th of April, 2023.

Rainer Spangl's series of works are based on figuration but come very close to abstraction through permanent repetition of motifs with small changes. Spangl speaks of a "sober on-off relationship to abstraction" that is already inherent in the process of creating the works. They depict motifs from his private and public environment: views of a face, of plants as well as planes of colour that evoke atmosphere or skin. The rigour of seriality corresponds to the intensive and almost obsessive painting process. 
 
In the ongoing series of facial fragments, the gaze of the eye in the painting passes the viewer and interacts with the space. The works differ only in the position and angle of the eye, the colour temperature and the relationship between light and shadow. Paintings of winter roses and the Pilea peperomioides form another group of works. Similar to the paintings of faces, Spangl chooses a section of motifs based on compositional decisions. The depicted plants evoke a vastness beyond the pictorial space. An ensemble of abstract paintings forms an additional block of works in Spangl's painterly exploration. The works, here in small format, depict nuances of colour in their interplay on the pictorial surface. Colour is treated as a composition tool and acts in relation to the picture format and its physical boundary.
 
The repeated use of the same subjects reveals the aspect of temporality in Spangl's work. His recourse to motifs that have already been depicted is always accompanied by a shift in perspective and therefore also in meaning. Spangl's paintings are not a pure objectification, but an observation of his immediate surroundings characterised by intimacy and intensity.
 
Rainer Spangl, born 1977 in Vienna, lives and works in Vienna (AT).
Together with the artist Ezara Spangl, he founded the Artist Lecture Series Vienna, a platform that offers artists the opportunity to talk about their work in front of colleagues and other interested people and to present their works in the original. It currently takes place regularly at the Sculpture Institute, a project of the Sculpture and Space class at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

We look forward to your visit!