They say there is water on Mars

Jonas Bechtloff & Sophie Ullrich

6th July to 2nd September, 2023

Photo by Patrik Graf

In 1672, the polar caps of Mars were discovered and about three hundred years later it was confirmed that they are made of water - and dry ice. Mars as a terrestrial planet, with its polar caps, geysers and seasons is the stage for Sophie Ullrich and Jonas Bechtloff's joint narrative in the exhibition, "They say there is water on Mars".

The exhibition refers to the line between speculation and science and outer space, which serves as a projection of human hopes and fears for the future in pop culture.

Sophie Ullrich's and Jonas Bechtloff's works are characterised by their eclectic-ironic approach to the products of the commodity world and pop culture on the one hand and instruments of technology and science on the other.

In his sculptural works, Jonas Bechtloff emphasises the haptic and the tactile as indispensable conditions of our ability to know, which are made visible and tangible at the interface of nature and technology as the basis for artistic desire for expression and the human urge to explore.

Sophie Ullrich's paintings take up the trivial idea of packing a suitcase in their motifs. A well-tried aspirin or the Sodastream machine in the hand luggage play as accurately painted objects on schematic backgrounds with the utopia of a colonisation of the red planet.

ARTWORKS

Kondensat, 2023

Ceramic & steel
84.0 x 25.0 x 25.0 cm

Copyright Jonas Bechtloff

Photo by Patrik Graf

Planetary Roulette, 2023

Ceramic & steel
44.0 x 50.0 x 20.0 cm

Copyright Jonas Bechtloff

Photo by Patrik Graf

Toysrus, 2023

Ceramic & steel
95.0 x 45.0 x 23.0 cm

Copyright Jonas Bechtloff

Photo by Patrik Graf

Zentrifuge, 2023

Ceramic, plaster, plastic, cork, pigment & steel
75.0 x 35.0 x 35.0 cm

Copyright Jonas Bechtloff

Photo by Patrik Graf

SOLD

Acqua Frizzante, 2023

Oil on cavas
130.0 x 100.0 cm

Copyright Sophie Ullrich

Blume, 2023

Oil on canvas
190.0 x 150.0 cm

Copyright Sophie Ullrich

Orbitdeko 2, 2023

Oil on canvas
50.0 x 40.0 cm

Copyright Sophie Ullrich

Aspirin, 2023

Oil on canvas
130.0 x 100.0 cm

Copyright Sophie Ullrich

Mein Hobby - Neonsalmler, 2023

Oil on canvas
170.0 x 140.0 cm

Copyright Sophie Ullrich

Marsmission, 2023

Oil on canvas
130.0 x 100.0 cm

Copyright Sophie Ullrich

Notizen, 2023

Oil on canvas
140.0 x 120.0 cm

Copyright Sophie Ullrich

Mein Hobby - Garnelen, 2023

Oil on canvas
190.0 x 150.0 cm

Copyright Sophie Ullrich

Orbitdeko 1, 2023

Oil on canvas
50.0 x 40.0 cm

Copyright Sophie Ullrich

INSTALLATION PHOTOS

Photos by Patrik Graf