Maureen Paley is pleased to present the ninth solo exhibition by Wolfgang Tillmans at the gallery. This exhibition focuses on Tillmans’ multifaceted approach to image-making, featuring new and previously unseen works from the mid 1980s to the present day.

In the ground floor gallery Tillmans presents a new multi-part work Old Street (parallax), 2019, made whilst circling the landmark East London roundabout. The work takes its title from the term used in astronomy to measure the distance from the earth to a star through the parallax angle. The angle is determined from the difference in the position of an object over a period of time from a given viewpoint. The work records the shifting of architectural layers from the inward, as well as outward-looking perspective of the orbit.

Also within the groundfloor gallery are new Greifbar works, created in the darkroom without negatives or a camera, but purely through the manipulation of light on paper. These Greifbar works mark a shift in the series by employing a new duo chromatic palette. Another series of Greifbar works that are more intimate in scale and restrained in their palette also punctuate both floors of the gallery.

Tillmans began using photocopies in the late 1980s, understanding the possibilities they allowed him for making pictures and has since developed a uniquely inventive approach to the medium. Tillmans presents a grouping of photocopy works including unique colour, and black and white copies, as well as inkjet prints of enlarged photocopies. Prior to embracing the possibilities of the photocopy Tillmans worked with drawing and painting, examples of which are also on view, and represent some of the earliest examples of the artist’s works.

Playing in the gallery’s yard is Sound of Central, 2018, an audio work created from layered field recordings, importing a soundscape that interacts with the distinct audio sphere of the space.

05 June – 04 August 2019

Maureen Paley
21 Herald Street
London E2 6JT
UK