A virtuoso painter, René Wirths is renowned for his still lifes, which are both objective and meditative, and where each object represented — a sneaker, a coffee pot, a pair of headphones, a spray bottle — is treated in an hyper-realist manner that captures every detail and texture. Far beyond a mere imitation of reality, Wirths bestows upon everyday objects an almost sculptural presence, revealing their symbolic weight and silent essence. Representation gives way to reflection, resulting in a physical and metaphysical experience. With the new series, however, René Wirths, for the first time, places his subjects at the centre of a prism of light with divergent rays. His gaze oscillates between accessible reality and subjective vision, focusing on the role of the image in our experience of the world — a perspective fully dedicated to the art of painting.

René Wirths offers a highly personal homage to the great masters of art history, from Édouard Manet’s “Fifer” to “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” by seminal German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich. “I am finally liberating myself from the process that forced me to reflect the outside world solely through the prism of my own observation,” the artist explains. “I have developed a new vocabulary, more inward-looking, inspired by my readings, music and discussions. My subject has shifted: I allow myself to stage my great masters of art history through a new perspective, freed from the material universe that surrounds me.”

The “I Can’t Get No” exhibition — its title a discreet nod by this discerning music lover to the famous song by legendary group The Rolling Stones — underscores the importance of rhythm in René Wirths’ oeuvre and interrogates the mysterious, sometimes elusive, aura of a work of art. What knowledge, what memory or personal experience allows one to reveal the profound meaning of a work of art?