Where the stress falls

Galerie Rainer Gröschl, Kiel
25.01 - 15.09.2024

Sara Petrickova
Ole Goldt

In the exhibition “Where the Stress Falls”, the two painters Sára Petríčková and Ole Goldt
engage in an intimate dialogue. Their works reveal numerous parallels in their use of form
and color, which consistently convey a hint of nostalgia. This is achieved through a color
palette dominated by Polaroid-like, muted tones, as well as through direct quotations from
retro films, causing traces and fragments of the past to emerge repeatedly. But what drives
two young artists at the beginning of their careers to such a painting style? In discussing their
work, they identified a commonality that might answer this question: They feel stressed by
the world in which they live. This touches upon a theme that has recently become very
popular in the humanities: Society seems to be accelerating, especially since the advent of
digitalization, while painting is declared either dead or alive in increasingly shorter cycles. In
the resulting, nearly overwhelming maze of styles, Petríčková and Goldt present a great
sensitivity to the emotional impact that this global development can have on individuals in
their everyday lives. While Goldt's paintings are marked by a visually conveyed
disorientation that suggests the perspective of a lost subject, the figures in Petríčková’s
paintings are depicted in moments of extreme tension, often in the context of combative
confrontation. Both oeuvres create an impression of urgency that seems to approach an inner
crisis, thus hinting at a profound engagement with the pace and pressure of modern life. Their
paintings are not only an expression of their personal reactions to today’s world, but also a
reflection on the emotional and aesthetic challenges brought about by these dynamics.
Sára Petríčková, born in 1997 in Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic, has been studying Fine
Arts at Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design in Kiel since 2017. She has participated
in numerous exhibitions, including in Kiel, Bremen, Hamburg, Brussels, Breslau, and
Náchod. In 2022, she was awarded the Grand Elysée Prize for Painting.
Ole Goldt, born in 1997 in Eutin, has also been studying Fine Arts at Muthesius University of
Fine Arts and Design in Kiel since 2017. He has participated in various exhibitions, including
in Kiel, Bremen, Bad Bentheim, Brussels, Hamburg, Náchod, and Lübeck. In 2021, he was
nominated for the Gopea Förderpreis and was a finalist for the Grand Elysée Prize for
Painting in 2022.

Text by Maxim Lewandowski

Gostak
2024
Oil on linen
160 x 130 cm

Bankasa
2024
Oil on linen
160 x 130 cm

Photos include works by Sara Petrickova.