STAY PSYCHO STAY FREE

STUDIO TALKS is based on interviews with artists and thus also on the conviction that we can best approach art in the form of dialogue. Through these interactions we learn a lot about ourselves and the times we live in. From the selection of international artists, the majority lives and work in Berlin. Their diverse positions provide an exciting overview of the here and now of young painting, as well as of current themes and issues that artists are tackling today. Both on a formal and on a thematic, level, these positions show new developments in painting and prove the high relevance and desirability of the medium, especially in a thoroughly digitalized world. The exhibition invites us all to rediscover painting and to encounter with the unknown just like we do it, during a good studio visit.

Moritz Lindur’s works are always the essence of extensive research, combining investigative methods with artistic expression. In his latest presentation, he showcases two small-format oil paintings: Stay Psycho and Stay Free and Cocaine Withdrawal in Forensic Commitment Not Possible. Both pieces, dominated by red and black tones, critically engage with the precarious conditions in Berlin’s prisons. Due to severe overcrowding, inmates suffering from mental illness or drug addiction are often released early because institutional capacities are insufficient. Through his work, Lindur casts an unflinching gaze on these “desituations,” exposing the structural deficiencies of the system. The expressive color palette amplifies the urgency and intensity of the subject matter.