DIRK STASCHKE: Perfection of Happenstance

Winston Wächter Fine Art Seattle is proud to announce an exhibition of new sculptures by Dirk Staschke, Perfection of Happenstance. Please join us for our opening reception on Wednesday, November 15, 6-8PM . The artist will be in attendance.

With Perfection of Happenstance, Dirk Staschke continues his exploration of Dutch Vanitas paintings and their powerful symbolism of impermanence and inevitable decay. In this body of work Staschke focuses on the fleeting illusion of space created by painting and the static moments they aim to represent. Staschke’s freestanding sculptures forwardly present lifelike bouquets built on the raw foundations of visibly manipulated clay. Perspective dictates if you are given view of the process or the “finished” work. The acknowledgement of all aspects of creation and the false impressions those can create is a vital element in all of Stachke’s work.

In his recent series of wall mounted “paintings” Staschke has created imagery deteriorating before you. The compositions appear as if they are sliding off the panel, leaving just the impression of what was once painstakingly painted to capture a moment in time. Staschke again plays with what we think we know, by using carefully layered glazes intended to create artificial instability. What seems to be a failing of the medium is in fact an extremely involved process, highly difficult to execute. Every element of the artwork has been sculpted and painted, asking us to question the validity of those mediums and how they have been valued throughout time.

His work has been included in the collections at The Birmingham Museum of Art, The Smithsonian, The International Museum of Ceramic Art, The Portland Art museum, The American Museum of Ceramic Art, among others.