Founded in 2017, the non-profit association feinkunst e.V. is dedicated to the work of the universal artist Hannes Malte Mahler (1968-2016), who died in an accident in 2016. The purpose of the association is to preserve the works of the universal artist and make them accessible to the public, as well as to revitalize the Hanoverian art landscape.

The association is compiling a list of Hannes Malte Mahler's complete works and thus facilitating scholarly research into them. Mahler's works and those of other artists, mostly from the Hanover region, are presented in changing exhibitions in 220 square meters of gallery space. The association also organizes readings, concerts, artist talks, etc.

The exhibition “things with feelings” brings together two artistic positions that reveal the unease inherent in the familiar. Lea Gocht's (*1995) hybrid fabric creatures combine representations of a female body with cat-like elements. With broad grins and staring, desolate eyes, they fix us with their gaze. Goch's practice revolves around the manifold crises of the present and their effects on the individual. Manuel Cornelius (*1991) translates digital product logic into sculptures made of agar jelly. At first glance, they appear to be flawless, technoid surfaces, but they quickly reveal their organic fragility and tendency to decay. Both positions work with unstable bodies and soft but resilient surfaces. While Gocht's installations direct the gaze inward, Cornelius' sculptures draw attention to processes of decay and transformation. Together, they create a tension-filled web of allusions that oscillates between attraction and irritation.

Artists: Lea Gocht and Manuel Cornelius

Curated by Justus Linnekugel