With his interiors, whose great range can be seen in this impressive monograph and catalogue raisonné, Matthias Weischer (*1973) deals with a classic genre, creating a connection between his work and seventeenth-century Dutch masterpieces. Yet in Weischer’s austere, almost frozen settings, the human element is missing; there is nothing alive or personal. The artist intensifies this installation-like effect by using wall separators and furnishings such as mattresses, tables, and curtains, which are inserted into selected areas of the image as pure forms or ornaments. Extremely thick impasto also emphasizes the surface of the canvas, destroying the pictorial illusion. Weischer’s virtuoso paintings permit the viewer to see private interior worlds, which nonetheless remain artificial, posing questions about the past and memory.Exhibition schedule: Museum zu Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen,  May 13–August 12, 2007 · Kunsthalle Mannheim September 22, 2007–January 1, 2008   Gemeentemuseum Den Haag January 12–April 13, 2008