In his new exhibition, KENTON NELSON (*1954, Los Angeles) focuses on Austrian and Bavarian motifs captured on camera during his last visit to Salzburg and the surrounding area in 2016. The images remind of bygone days: the lifestyle of the 1950s and 1960s experiences a revival. Conforming to today's retro trend, sensual women in ski attire prepare to descend down the slopes (Bourne) while exuding intense graveness, giving the scene an air of solemnity. The paintings are reminiscent of snapshots: odd body parts are cropped, stay hidden and are left to the viewer's imagination (Manikin). In Devoir one sees a woman in a traditional Austrian costume hanging up laundry in her garden, which gives way to a view of the Bavarian Alps. KENTON NELSON says about its making: ''Devoir was inspired by my last visit to Salzburg, when Nikolaus Ruzicska and I took a trip to the countryside, which was like a day in paradise.''

Besides the Alpine scenery, the architecture of painted buildings (Drought, The Draw, The Project) and the vista from the Kapuzinerberg on to Salzburg (Strath) do not fail to amaze: Out of his studio in Pasadena,..CaliforniaKENTON NELSON has managed to masterfully put Salzburg's cultural landscape on canvas in a meticulous manner. His studio workday starts at 7:30 a.m. with an inspection of his photo archive. After the artist has selected a suitable motif, he frst conveys it as a drawing and then with acrylic paint onto canvas. The brush strokes are neatly sanded of to create a perfectly smooth surface: a reference to Christian Schad, a main representative of the New Objectivity. The works' lighting resembles one found in Hollywood movies and commercials of the post-war era: glistening sunlight, an interplay of sharpness and blur create contoured outlines that evoke clarity and calm (Workhorse). The artist's years of work as graphic designer and illustrator in the advertising industry unveil. Outside could be a template to a flm poster: set in soft red evening light, sharp silhouettes of male fgures stand against a difusely outlined forest.

Kenton Nelson