Ampersand is pleased to present Behind the Green Door, a solo exhibition by German artist Christoph Ruckhäberle. Comprised of works on paper, the show features small paintings that continue Ruckhäberle’s ongoing investigation of the human figure, while his mask-like drawings of fictional faces visually allude to the prints recently shown in Chaos Hat, a group exhibition here at Ampersand.

His reclining women are directly linked to the enamel on canvas paintings currently on view at Galleri Nicolai Wallner in Copenhagen. Sculptural in execution, the women nonetheless exist in a flattened dimension, their shapely limbs either blending in or clashing with the patterns that make up the walls and flooring of the rooms in which they sit. Their gaze is almost always askance, so it’s that much more striking when certain women, bolder among the set, look us directly in the eye, just as those who pose nude seem liberated from the patterns that surround them. The converging lines and shapes in Ruckhäberle’s pornographic works also draw our eye to a specific point in the painting. Like the huge eyes and elated smiles common to each of the mask drawings, it’s nearly impossible not to look first at the stylized genitalia that his men and women so freely exhibit. Perhaps it suggests our innate human tendency to visually focus on specific parts of nude human bodies, while confirming that the dynamic colors, patterns and spatial relations singular to Ruckhäberle are not merely ornamental, but integral to the way in which we are led to view his work.

Christoph Ruckhäberle (b.1972) lives and works in Leipzig, Germany. His works on paper, linocuts and paintings have been widely exhibited. He is also co-cofounder of Lubok Verlag, a publishing imprint that produces original graphic books by contemporary artists.

Below is a selection of works in the exhibition.
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Untitled
Color pencil on paper
14 x 11 in.
CR_19
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