Galerie Peter Kilchmann is pleased to present Nasse augen (Wet eyes), the fourth solo exhibition by Swiss artist Andriu Deplazes (b. 1993 in Zurich; lives and works in Marseille and Zurich). The title references his solo exhibition Rote augen (Red eyes) at the Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur in 2019. While Rote augen represented raging anger, wrath, and a loud outcry, Nasse Augen symbolizes letting go, liberation, and the courage to finally cry. The sense of powerlessness, as a reaction of the individual to seemingly insurmountable, complex issues in our present moment, reverberates. The exhibition embodies the artist's development: his work has matured, solidified, and he convincingly demonstrates his quality as an outstanding painter.

Through his works, Deplazes explores the three floors of the Rämistrasse with themes that reflect political, global, and personal processes: human beings and their connection to nature, family constellations, protection, exclusion, and precarity—motifs already familiar from his previous body of work. Water appears in many of his pieces as a unifying element, while another central theme is the search for mechanisms of protection, security, and intimacy, or, conversely, the act of liberation—a dynamic interplay between the inner and outer realms. The exhibition features new paintings on canvas, works on paper, ceramic sculptures, and paintings on glass, some of which are presented in light boxes. In his use of colors and atmospheres, the artist has drawn inspiration from Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Lucian Freud, Maria Lassnig, and other artists of classical modernism.

A grayish-colored fabric, a glacier cloth, flows from the ceiling to the floor, wrapping the stair railing and preserving the remaining glaciers in the monumental painting of an alpine panorama, Gipfelmännchen, gipfelbuch (Summit cairns, summit book, 206 x 378 cm) adapting to the contours of the exhibition space: Our glaciers are melting, they are crying. The synthetic fabric, reminiscent of a curtain, helped protect 80,000 square meters of the Titlis Glacier (Engelberg, Switzerland) from sunlight last summer. Now, it shields the visitors from observing eyes on the staircase. What is the value of a ski trip in early December to us? Can or will we forgo it in the future? In the foreground of the alpine panorama, a figure gazes upwards, holding a summit book—similar to a diary—in which one can inscribe their name. While the glaciers in the background are disappearing, enormous dams collect meltwater for energy production. This helplessness, this inability, is emotionally reflected in Deplazes' work on paper Les pleureuses de Bologne (Bologna mourners, 150.5 x 109.5 cm), two female figures in pale and bright pink, lilac and light blue are painted in oil paint and ink. Their liquid bodies merge into one another from tears and color, flowing into a seemingly liquid mass of paint. These figures evoke the traditional iconography of the Passion of Christ, especially depictions of mourners, of "weeping women," as seen in the scenes of the ‘Lamentation of Christ’. Deplazes employs various techniques for his works on paper; in the most recent, he first applies ink and oil and then prints the medium using the monotype process. This technique imparts striking depth and luminosity to the works, without the white remnants of the paper.

Under the protection of the cloth, the visitors ascend to the upper floor. The first room is dedicated to interior scenes and various family constellations, questioning societal and familial role models. For example in the work Fisch im teller, auge nim horizont (Fish on the plate, eyes on the horizon, 51 x 61 cm) a family of three sits at a table in front of an idyllic mountain panorama, or a stage scene is presented, with the work Körper vor und hinter vorhang (Bodies in front of and behind curtain, 194 x 239 cm) leaving it unclear whether the viewers are positioned in front of or behind it. The figures, characteristic of Deplazes' work, are human, yet generic, estranged, and androgynous with vague facial features, portrayed in an isolated manner. Another oil painting, Auf ellenbogen stützen (Supporting with elbows, 70 x 70 cm) depicts two naked bodies in bed, directly gazing into the eyes of the spectator. The duvet, glowing in the light of the setting sun, shimmers in violet and rose hues, evoking a mountainous landscape gently enveloped by drifting clouds.

In the next room, the perspective expands to encompass parallel destinies, with which we are constantly confronted, through our ongoing media consumption. In the large-scale oil painting Körper hält kinderwagen (Body holds baby stroller, 165 x 290 cm), Deplazes unveils a dreamy, surreal, and lush floral landscape. In the foreground, a garden is depicted, with vibrant green grass and a variety of flowers in white, salmon, orange, red, violet, aubergine, and violet blue. Shrubs in rich green tones have been carefully planted and are accentuated by grey stones. Behind, a vast green field stretches out, merging into a mist-covered mountain range. Alone and abandoned, almost dystopian, a figure with a bare torso stands in the garden, barefoot, dressed in royal blue trousers. The figure holds the red frame of a stroller, and is weeping. On the horizon, against the misty sky, a chain of people—families with children in motion—becomes visible. Körper im kampf (Bodies in combat, 180 x 270 cm) tells of life in war and mechanisms of protection. In the background, interceptor missiles flash. In the midground, two figures are boxing on a meadow; despite the war, they pursue their hobby, playing out a fight. In the foreground, a family of foxes approaches their den. Both the boxers and the foxes exist within an artificial bubble, in safety. In the painting Zwei körper mit helm vereint (Two bodies with helmet united, 203 x 167 cm), we see a couple skiing, cheek to cheek, closely embracing each other.

In the final room on the upper floor, the figures in the works confront us with their resignation. Without resistance, they accept their respective fates. The painting on glass, mounted in a lightbox, Körper mit kerze im eingang (Bodies with candle in entrance, 173 x 118 x 22 cm) depicts two people holding a candle crouching in front of the entrance of a house. From above, we look into the eyes of two homeless individuals. How could we help them? A sense of helplessness spreads, as fates like these cannot be quickly resolved. We empathize with them; their plight touches us. Yet, moments later, we turn our gaze away, returning to our lives, to our everyday routine. Deplazes thus places us in a hopeless situation, where we experience empathy, but simultaneously fail to act. In a niche, the installation Körper vor leere (Bodies before void) is on view, consisting of 6 small ceramic sculptures (each 5 x 6 x 7 cm) of reclining and seated figures which are at peace within themselves. They are standing on a painted acrylic glass panel and are positioned in front of a work on paper (150 x 88 cm) depicting an empty reservoir: the glacier has completely melted, and thus, the water to be stored is absent.

In the basement—the underworld, the inferno—no rules apply and at first glance a lot remains hidden. In the work Boxer (97 x 83 cm) the viewer encounters a boxing figure who is about to throw a punch. Another stained-glass artwork slightly hidden behind the glacier cloth, Lèvre contre lèvre (Lip to lip, 46 x 51 x 1 cm) depicts two kissing, tightly entwined figures in the style of Bacchanalia—the wild Bacchic festivals of ancient Rome. The oil painting Passage (d'après le Jugement dernier de Michel-Ange) (Passage (after Michelangelo's Last Judgement), 153 x 207 cm) unfolds in a spectrum of blue hues ranging from deep navy blue to royal blue and shimmering accents of bright turquoise, with subtle touches of coral red and vibrant orange. At first glance, Deplazes evokes an idyllic coastal landscape. On closer inspection, however, the work reveals its proximity to Michelangelo's Last judgement. The scene of the mythological figure Charon on his barge, in which he is transporting recently damned souls to hell, unfolds delicately between the dark blue waves. Deplazes preserves the tortured, naked figures from the original composition, but reinterprets the ferryman by equipping him with two firearms. Through Nasse augen (Wet eyes), Deplazes thus creates a journey through five rooms that reflects on our contemporary reality and privileges, immersing us in realms of thought filled with depth and irony.