gezwanzig

Measurement systems from different periods and cultural areas have accumulated in Roman Pfeffer’s studio. What they have in common is that they are calibrated in ‘metres’ or ‘inches’. It is only when they are used that they reveal their potential: taking measurements, putting things in relation to each other – and in some cases to oneself – and discovering parameters in the diversity of the world around us. These activities fascinated Pfeffer from an early age. He alternates between the ‘sensual’ approach to the concrete, the precision of measurement, and the abstraction of comparison.

With his work ‘ID’ (2026), Roman Pfeffer questions current visual identity coding systems. He transfers the globally used acronym ID onto square concrete slabs measuring 32 × 32 cm. They are arranged in four rows of 5 units each, one above the other. The body of the signs is left as grey industrial-grade concrete.

With their tactile stone surfaces, they stand out against the colourful, opaque background in light turquoise. The multi-part image object, whose perfect craftsmanship reveals no personal signature, appears as an abstract, mosaic-like composition of various movable colour surfaces. However, it remains hermetically sealed to the casual observer. There is a calculated reason behind this: contrary to the usual reading direction in Europe, Roman Pfeffer has rotated every second panel 90° to the left around its own axis. The linear reference system of the letter sequence is severed, an agreed order is disrupted, and abstraction occurs on several levels. With a simple act of rearrangement, the acronym ‘ID’ is deconstructed, along with all the ideas that it might evoke.

At the same time, Roman Pfeffer leads us down the opposite path with the conventionally readable title ‘ID,’ which claims that it is a reference to the self. In dealing with the contradictory signals emanating from the image object, the title and the evoked notions of identity, the fragility of identity coding is brought to light and, even more so, the fundamental question is raised as to whether identity can be coded at all.

Text: Heidrun Rosenberg

Der in Dornbirn geborene (*1953) und in Wien lebende Künstler Franz Türtscher zeigt ab 10. März seine neue Ausstellung „Option” in der Leopoldstraße 41 in Innsbruck. Die Schau präsentiert Werke zwischen konkreter Kunst, Schriftbildern und räumlichen Bildarchitekturen.

Bildarchitektur – Offener Rahmen

Zentral ist die Werkgruppe „Bildarchitektur – Offener Rahmen”. Türtscher entwickelt räumlich-reliefartige Bildstrukturen mit Modulcharakter. Sein nach oben offener Rahmen reflektiert den Umraum mit. Geometrische Elemente werden in Aluminiumrahmen wie Module zu dreidimensionalen Wandobjekten gefügt – ein System für Wandel und Veränderbarkeit.

Bild gewordene Schrift

Durch collageartige Wortkombinationen wie „KUNST FORM POESIE” entstehen spannungsgeladene Gefüge. Fehlende Zwischenräume lassen die Typografie zu heterogenen Flächen verschmelzen, die erst auf den zweiten Blick zu entziffern sind. Die Lettern verwandeln sich zu einem Liniengeflecht – Bild gewordene Schrift.

Born in Dornbirn (*1953) and living in Vienna, artist Franz Türtscher will be showing his new exhibition “Option” at Leopoldstraße 41 in Innsbruck from March 10. The show presents works ranging from concrete art to typography and spatial image architectures.

Image architecture – open frame

The central focus is the group of works entitled “Image architecture – open frame.” Türtscher develops spatial, relief-like image structures with a modular character. His open-top frame reflects the surrounding space. Geometric elements are assembled in aluminum frames like modules to form three-dimensional wall objects – a system for change and variability.

Writing turned into images

Collage-like word combinations such as “KUNST FORM POESIE” (ART FORM POETRY) create tension-filled structures. Missing spaces allow the typography to merge into heterogeneous surfaces that can only be deciphered at second glance. The letters are transformed into a network of lines – writing turned into images.

Geometrie als Sprache

Esther Stocker arbeitet mit Linien, Rastern und rechten Winkeln – ausschließlich in den Nichtfarben Schwarz und Weiß. Diese reduzierte visuelle Sprache ist kein Selbstzweck, sondern Mittel: Sie schafft die Voraussetzungen dafür, dass kleinste Eingriffe größtmögliche Wirkung entfalten können.

Ordnung und ihre Auflösung

Minimale Verschiebungen im Raster genügen, um das scheinbar Stabile ins Wanken zu bringen. Stocker nutzt die Robustheit geometrischer Formen, um die Bedingungen für ihre völlige Auflösung zu schaffen – das Raster, das Orientierung versprechen sollte, wird zum Instrument der Desorientierung.

System und Subversion

„Ich nutze die Präzision eines Systems, um das System selbst zu hinterfragen”, formuliert Stocker ihr Anliegen. Geometric Love lädt zu einer Reflexion ein, die über die Geometrie hinausgeht: über die Strukturen und Ordnungen, die unser Leben bewusst und unbewusst organisieren.

Zur Künstlerin

Esther Stocker, 1974 in Italien geboren, lebt und arbeitet in Wien. Sie gehört zu den profiliertesten Vertreterinnen eines zeitgenössischen geometrisch-konstruktivistischen Ansatzes und wird von der Galerie Krobath, Wien, vertreten.

geometry as a language

Esther Stocker works with lines, grids, and right angles—exclusively in the non-colors black and white. This reduced visual language is not an end in itself, but a means: it creates the conditions for the smallest interventions to have the greatest possible impact.

order and its dissolution

Minimal shifts in the grid are enough to destabilize what appears to be stable. Stocker uses the robustness of geometric forms to create the conditions for their complete dissolution—the grid, which was meant to provide orientation, becomes an instrument of disorientation.

system and subversion

“I use the precision of a system to question the system itself,” Stocker explains her approach. Geometric Love invites a reflection that goes beyond geometry: beyond the structures and orders that consciously and unconsciously organize our lives.

about the artist

Esther Stocker, born in Italy in 1974, lives and works in Vienna. She is one of the most prominent representatives of a contemporary geometric-constructivist approach and is represented by Galerie Krobath, Vienna.