“The Invention of Solitude” is a biographical book by Paul Auster, published in 1982. We chose this title because it aptly captures the atmosphere of the exhibition.

The inspiration for Ludwig Spaude’s photographs is biographical. His childhood dreams take him to the cloud forests of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Madeira, Indonesia, and Colombia, where he rediscovers the images he once dreamed. For weeks, he travels alone with his camera, moving back and forth between real experiences and his memories. What he sees fulfills his dreams, but also adds something new and unexpected. Added to this are the sounds, the physical exertion, the act of taking photographs, which demands reflection and decision.

In the solitude of the rainforest, the inner and outer worlds connect, the past and the moment merge. The photographer succeeds in capturing emotionally charged situations. On the one hand, they appear traumatically blurred, yet on the other, they are a razor-sharp depiction of reality. That’s what makes them so special.

Ludwig Spaude has self-published the photobook to the series, »Under The Same Sky«, in 2025 in an edition of 75. The photobook is available in the gallery and via Ludwig’s online shop.

Sid Gastl doesn’t have to travel. He finds everything he needs for his paintings in his studio. Yet they emerge in the same way: from the interplay of inner and outer. Strictly speaking, reality doesn’t exist, only the reality he creates. He draws a tree, a ship, a forest – everything real that he wants to incorporate into the picture.

Through his choice of colors, he determines the atmosphere and effect of the painting. In his work, too, a dreamy vagueness prevails. For he is convinced that we can never know everything. Being is always an appearance, and what it really is remains a mystery. Perhaps in the process of painting, when feeling and reality combine, it is possible to approach reality. And nevertheless: the “gentle cloud of the inexplicable” (Sid Gastl) always lies over the world.

Friday, Nov 14, 2025, 7 – 9 pm
Opening reception