Creatures! by Juliane Hundertmark & Carolein Smit at Galerie Fontana Amsterdam. The dynamic between the two artists coalesces in their subversion of the ordinary, relying heavily on satire and boundary play. For Juliane Hundertmark, the quotidian is rendered as unfamiliar in her eccentric, grotesque, and almost dream-like worlds. The paintings are psychologically complex and provocative. Hundertmark`s narrative scenes depict satirical portraits of humanity. The exhibited works are entitled Scenes - secretly uncanny. Grouped are mythical creatures, animals, and real figures, brought together to form unusual, theatrical, and sometimes disturbing scenes. Solid bodies morph into outlined forms which allude to the figure`s alter-ego or subconscious musings. Comic characters and stereotypes are illustrated, often based on historical and religious themes, such as The Last Supper. Removed from their original context, the protagonists become contemporaries, grounded in irony. The artist indicates her work`s starting point, which she names "the human flaw". Hundertmark`s newest body of work points to metanarratives such as man`s weakness, the height of inhability to fall, and the abyss of human existence. Each work traverses humanity`s dark side, as the artist paints with genuine pathos by compositionally placing strange fellows in strange relationships. The faces of the various beings look mockingly, or at least self-confidently, at the viewer, thereby triggering curiosity and a little uncertainty within. The spectator may decide that they`re missing something that the depicted group has long recognized. There is an anthropomorphic aura in the artist`s relation of the figurative elements to certain social critiques. This weight of meaning is further emboldened by the artist`s use of dark and romantic coulours. Slightly ominous in nature, these paintings complement Carolein Smit`s frighteningly detailed pieces that are painful, fragile, unfulfilled, and sometimes dangerous. Irony is the red thread in this exhibition as CREATURES! proposes a heightening of the subconsciousness and the psyche. Tension and conflict underpin the two mediums, inviting the viewer to examine a complicated knot of conflicting messages. For Hundertmark, a mode of messaging is directly integrated through her use of language as an artistic element - the titles are incorporated into each painting and do not represent an inscription. However, a sense of melodrama is subverted through the artist`s use of the theatrical, and a certain element of humorousness. For Smit, beauty turns into overkill and love becomes hate as she encourages a viewer`s onlook to contain both admiration and disgust, whereas Hundertmark`s narratives are wonderfully balanced by fast and brilliant paintwork creating a world that is equal in beauty as to its strangeness. There is a united element of the surreal as the handsome visuals explore a sort of dark humour and carry an essence of German expressionism in the depicted provocative alter-realities. Human contrariety is called into question through these probing artistic masterpieces. The curated display suggests order and security, while at the same time warning us of a natural and internal chaos that teeters on a bance beam.

In my work I incorporate a sharp social critique, which focuses on social and cultural traumas rather than on private issues. This is the dark site of the consumer society we all live in. To be exceedingly comical, burlesque, dark humor has the subversive edge. I like grotesque aesthetics. My works are very close to filmstills, I like modern theater and when I´m painting I slip into a role to imagine and create the strange creatures I paint in my work. Sometimes the same idea pops up less unchanged year after year. This repetition and recycling reflects the open attitude to the works - they are in a state of transformation. Every paintinmg deals with several of the themes I process throughout my work. There is the anthropomorphism of in my work, but also thoughts, feelings and ideas - from outside the world. In my paintings I have Comic characters and stereotypes which enable me to assume a persona - a role while painting. The titles of my pictures are elements of the painting, the words function as a visual element, not as a caption. Sometimes my works are zoomed on destructive art, where creating and destroying coincide.

Wir erwarten ihn. Wir sehnen uns nach der Erlösung. Alles fliegt in der unendlichen Landschaft. Das gewaltige Wesen bricht aus dem Traum. Der Wind frischt auf und wir können jetzt fliegen. Der Ton wird immer schriller. Es herrscht jetzt Er. Die Wesen sind erleuchtet. Das Blau des Himmels tut weh. Dunkel rauschen die Tannenbäume. Oh, wie pathetisch das jetzt ist. Das kleine Märchen mit den lustigen Figuren wird jetzt etwas unheimlich. Die Fleischfarbe vermischt sich mit Grüntönen. Es ist Jagdzeit ! Lasst uns töten !

Last Resort - der letzte Ort, die Zuflucht ins Paradis. Der Ausweg. Gepflegte Langeweile in der Landschaft der Krokodile. Das Gewächs ist schon lange abgestorben, der Himmel wird gelb. Wir liegen in der Sonne. Wir relaxen im unwirklichen Licht im Angesicht des Harlekins. Das Grinsen ist ein Genuss in dieser Endzeit. In weiter Ferne wehen Farne im milchigen Sonnenlicht. Die Reptilien warten. Die Geduld ist gelbgrün. Der Käfer wird landen mit seinem braunen Fell. Wir werden gefressen und genießen es. Ein Ort am Meer ohne Wiederkehr, haha !