Marc Jancou OFFSITE is pleased to present Albrecht Schnider: Landschaften, on view June 29 – September 14, 2014 in Rossinière, Switzerland.

Albrecht Schnider’s Landschaften project was begun over two decades ago. Characterized by undulating lines and clear planes of color and shadow, these works represent abstracted visions of a natural world without plants or architecture, without weather, mood, or time of day. Berlin-based artist Birgit Szepanski gives us some thoughts on the exhibition:

In order to see where you have come from, and in order to know where you will arrive, you need some distance from each of these points—and also some distance from your present position. It is only via the gradual emergence of distance that it becomes possible to observe; this is that cautious movement that lies between the search and the discovery. When we observe we come up closer to things, but without ever really reaching them. It is rather as if we were only able almost to touch them, while we are in fact situated in some ephemeral place—that space where we come nearer. When we come nearer, meaning begins; it unfolds, takes shape, but without gaining any firm contours. In this way a delicate moment arises between setting out and arriving: the “not-yet” of things. This is a form of pure prefigurement, a promise as to what may come to be. And here, when perceiving the “not yet”, the immeasurable void that is always about us becomes tangible and engenders a desire for being. When we look at Albrecht Schnider’s figurative and abstract drawings and paintings, they are reminiscent of things that lie behind us; they point to the void and they prefigure something new. In this threshold realm of being, at the margins of departure, of pausing, and of arrival, there lies a profound longing.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Albrecht Schnider was born in 1958 in Lucerne, Switzerland.  He currently lives and works in Berlin.

Schnider’s work has been exhibited for over twenty years, and is included in numerous public and private collections throughout Europe.  Solo exhibitions of his work were held at the Haus am Waldsee in Berlin and at the Kunstmuseum Solothurn in 2011.  His first solo exhibition in the United States was presented by Marc Jancou Contemporary in New York in May 2012.  Publications of his work include Albrecht Schnider: Am Ereignishorizont (Berlin: Haus am Waldsee, 2011); Albrecht Schnider: Die Rückseite des Spiegels (Nürnberg: Kunstmuseum Solothurn, 2011); and Albrecht Schnider: Das noch Mögliche (Nürnberg: Verlag für moderne Kunst Nürnberg, 2006).

Schnider will have an exhibition at Helmhaus Zürich, September 26 - November 16, 2014. Curated by Simon Maurer, Schnider’s work will be shown alongside Berlin-based painter Giacomo Santiago Rogado and will be accompanied by a publication.

ABOUT OFFSITE

OFFSITE Rossinière is a collaboration between New York- and Geneva-based gallerist Marc Jancou and Partnership At Work, an association of local businesses and the Pays-d'Enhaut Tourism Office.  OFFSITE aims to establish a context and dialogue for contemporary art in the Pays-d'Enhaut region, making Rossiniere a world class art destination.  Through the presentation of art projects, all free and open to the public, OFFSITE and its affiliates seek to make contemporary art accessible and part of daily life, beyond the conventional urban, "white cube" setting.  As home to the late Balthus, one of the most respected figurative painters of the 20th century, Rossinière provides a particularly inspiring setting for contemporary art projects.  The Balthus Chapel sits within walking distance from OFFSITE’s ad hoc spaces, functioning as a third, complimentary exhibition site.

OFFSITE’s exhibition venues have been generously donated by Restaurant Les Jardins de la Tour.  Special thanks are given to Barbara Schoepfer, Patrick Gazeau, Jean-Pierre Neff, Frédéric Delachaux, Stephanie Sutton, Eric Henchoz, Helene Tille, Amy Gadola, and Amara Craighill.