Thomas Scheibitz: cinematic form and color

A strange eye shines out from this wall-sized painting. Geometric patches of color suggest Mondrian. Scheibitz gains our attention as the director, scriptwriter and cinematographer of his art cinema, now on display at the Kunstmuseum Bonn. The artist, who was born in 1968 in Radeberg near Dresden, knows how to surprise.

Scheibitz's painting "Flatland" (pictured), like many of his works, is cheerfully colorful. But the artist also populates his sculptures and paintings with diverse references to contemporary art and art history through the use of geometric and architectural forms. The prestigious London Saatchi Gallery described it as "twenty-first century cubism."

For years Scheibitz has collected fashion magazines, art books, garden catalogs, album covers and even hardware store advertisements. He therefore draws his wealth of color and form from an almost inexhaustible pool, rearranging these elements to create unique mixed-media works like "SSW" (pictured) from 2017.

Red, white and blue triangles circle Scheibitz's '"Cross and Valley" from 2008. The mixed-media wall sculpture extends the artist's culturally rich art into the three dimensions with its shadow-casting cross that has a bizarre and explosive dynamic. In the Scheibitz cinema, the artist is both the director and usher.

Around 70 works by the East German painter are on show in the new exhibition "Masterplan\kino" at the Kunstmuseum Bonn. Many of the themes might be recognizable to viewers. But some ideas can puzzle. Thomas Scheibitz constantly plays with color and form, working as a deconstructor as well as a collagist. The Bonn exhibition continues through April 29, 2018.