Ausstellung "Gejagt, geliebt, gefürchtet - Von Menschen & Tieren"

Artist Hannes Möller has been working on his "Library Project" since 2007.

To this end, he visits libraries with special historical collections in Germany and Europe. His travels have taken him to Oxford, St. Gallen, Leuven, Strasbourg, Mainz, Weimar, Wolfenbüttel and Hildesheim, among other places.

In these "cathedrals of knowledge" (Alberto Manguel), Möller keeps discovering extraordinary treasures. However, he is less interested in the content of these discoveries than in the signs of use. Damage such as scratches, tears or cracks on the bindings - the result of centuries of use - tell of an often eventful history. They give each of these finds their unique face.

Möller has developed three project parts: "SOLITAIRE", "Die verlorene Bibliothek" and "Brandbücher | Aschebücher". In the exhibition, the artist presents a cross-section.

A special mixed-media technique based on watercolor, gouache and partial heightening with colored pencils lends the works an extraordinary plasticity. The medium is always heavy French laid paper.

Hannes Möller says: "You can't pick up my books, you can't open them and you certainly can't read them. That's how they keep their secret. But you can turn to them, look at them. They respond to the viewer's gaze like a portrait whose gaze follows its subject. My paintings are portraits of books. Like every human face, every book is unique. Each with its own content, character and history. Some books have survived their past unscathed, many have suffered injuries, some are bandaged, some are broken. But no one can penetrate inside. Only occasionally does a signature reveal something hidden."