Volker Hüller’s fragmented compositions speak to the mental spaces between dreams, delirium, and daily life. Figures are woven into the environment of the background creating an interplay between Hüller’s subjects and the features of the worlds they inhabit. Hüller integrates a succession of historical styles in both his paintings and etchings, but his works most distinctly possesses affinities to Expressionism, Cubism, and other strands of modernist exploration.
The artist pays careful attention to the balance between color, textural detail and unrestrained figuration, experimenting with different media to pin down a particular mood or essence. While some works have a mystical quality, others veer into a darker territory inclined towards absurdity rather than moralization. Hüller’s work surveys ways of depicting the artist, positioned in a mystical dystopia, forming part of heterogeneous narratives that link the fantastical to the mundane. Delicate lines score his compositions, creating an unsteady balance between chaos and harmony, highlighting a shared sense of vulnerability.
Volker Hüller (b. 1976 in Forchheim, DE) currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY (US). He studied under the late Norbert Schwontkowski (1949-2013) at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg (DE), graduating in 2008. Recent exhibitions include L.I.T.S., GRIMM, New York (US); Wasteland, Produzentengalerie, Hamburg (DE); Birds, Van Doren Waxter, New York, NY (US); Bon Voyage, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL); Paradise Inn, GRIMM, New York, NY (US); Tonics, Van Doren Waxter, New York, NY (US); Volley, Produzentengalerie, Hamburg (DE); L.I.T.S. Homo Naledi, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL); Volker Hüller, 11R Gallery, New York, NY (US); Volker Hüller, Timothy Taylor, London (UK); Volker Hüller, curated by Anna-Catherina Gebbers, Salon 94, New York, NY (US). Hüller has participated in group exhibitions at the following venues: GRIMM, New York, NY (US); Museum Weserburg für Moderne Kunst, Bremen (DE); Kunsthal Kade, Amersfoort (NL); Saatchi Gallery, London (UK); and the Falckenberg Collection, Hamburg (DE). Hüller’s work is included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (US); The Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX (US); Saatchi Gallery, London (UK) and the Israel Museum, Jerusalem (IL), as well as many private collections.