Art Of The Day Weekly

#523 - from 16 July 2018 to 5 September 2018


Kota Ezawa, Flood, 2011, light box, 100 x 150 cm © Courtesy from the artist and galerie Anita Beckers, Frankfurt

The fury of Mother Nature

HAMBURG – Tsunamis in Asia, cyclones in the Caribbean, earth quakes in Mexico, Iran or in Haiti, downpours of rain over Japan, landslides in Honduras or in the Philippines: even though the number of deaths does not equal that resulting from wars, Nature delivers dramas of all sorts. These demonstrations of fury have always fascinated painters, photographers and writers, as can be seen in this retrospective that sometimes gives us goose bumps. The ocean is in the first row, with paintings by Vernet, Püttner or Isabey (his sinking of the Emily is breathtaking). Everyone can find his own pleasure here, with the variety of fires, volcano eruptions –no one can remain indifferent in face of the Vesuvius, such as Wright of Derby and Valenciennes. The exhibition shows interesting contemporary variations, in particular regarding floods, by Olphaert Den Otter or Kota Ezawa: the rise of the water levels has become the number one risk.
Nature Unleashed. Images of the Catastrophe since 1600 at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, from 29 June to 14 October 2018.

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