The German term Stilblüten—literally "style blossoms"—denotes expressions that, through awkward, erroneous, or ambiguous combinations, produce an unintended sense of humor or incongruity. Within the framework of Thilo Westermann’s solo exhibition at the Institut für Moderne Kunst, the term functions as a conceptual metaphor for the generative and transformative potential inherent in artistic repetition. It evokes the ways in which Westermann’s imagery reappears in reverse glass paintings and their enlarged printed counterparts, is recontextualized through photomontage, and acquires additional semantic and material inflections in his recently published artist’s book Thilo Westermann Vanitas (Verlag für moderne Kunst). In his collaboration with the luxury fashion house ESCADA, these visual forms even traverse the traditional boundary between the "fine" and the "applied" arts, emphasizing the fluid continuum between artistic disciplines and modes of production.
Developed in cooperation with Oechsner Gallery, the exhibition presents a new selection of reverse glass paintings, unique prints, and photomontages, complemented by the artist’s book and the Spring/Summer capsule collection ESCADA MEETS THILO WESTERMANN.
April 23 – June 9, 2015
Institut für moderne Kunst
Gustav-Adolf-Strasse 33
90439 Nuremberg
