A Sea Drowning in Turquoise


Knut Wolfgang Maron (b. 1954) ranks among the pioneers of modern colour photography, particularly Polaroid photography. For his solo exhibition at the Alfred Ehrhardt Foundation – on view until December 23, 2021 – the German artist has selected several hundred images from his vast oeuvre of more than 8,500 Polaroids.

Against the background of climate change, the political dimension within Maron's work becomes especially palpable. Ecological issues have had an influence on Maron’s view of nature as far back as the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. His chosen colour palette transports the viewer to a different world, where shrubs and trees look as though they are bathed in extraterrestrial light, reducing them to white silhouettes. The skies glow yellow, the karstic rocks veer into blue, the soil turns purple, and the sea is drowning in turquoise. The natural world appears illuminated from within, and becomes a reflection of the space between memories and dreams. Characterised by warm tones and concentrated, serene compositions, Maron’s images are understated expressions of the sublime that echo the visual principles of Romanticism.


For further information visit  Alfred Ehrhardt Stiftung