Lost and Found.

Lost and Found

Dear friends of art, dear Matthias Garff, dear Dr Michels,

I would like to welcome you to the opening of our LOST AND FOUND exhibition with works by Matthias Garff and Thomas Putze.
Thomas Putze is unfortunately unable to attend today, so I am all the more delighted that you, dear Matthias Garff, are here with us for the second time to present your very special works of art.
I would like to extend a very warm welcome to art historian Dr Karen Michels. She will introduce us to the exhibition today.
Dr Michels founded the KUNSTVERSTAND agency and has set herself the goal of making the beauty, fascination and ideas of art accessible not only to the people of Hamburg.

LOST AND FOUND is the name of a lost property office
It describes the way the two artists work very well. They make art out of things that have been lost, thrown away or forgotten. They find the shapes and colours for their sculptures in discarded objects - be it a telephone
- be it a telephone with a dialling disc,
- an old suitcase,
- a dented tin canister
- or formwork timber from the building site.

Matthias Garff SEES the frog in the telephone.
Thomas Putze KNOWS that he only has to cut away very little of the shuttering board to reveal the elephant inside.
For me, there is a deeper meaning hidden in this way of working:
The artists teach us how to see. They teach us that even the small, seemingly insignificant things are full of beauty.

They bring to life the memories that we associate with a telephone or a leather case.
They make us realise that life is fleeting. A cycle: objects are first new, then used, then useless and old.
And suddenly they become part of something new again. Artists take old things and turn them into their own thing - a work for reflection.
In addition to this SENSE, I love the humour and tenderness with which both artists look at the world.
And I like the optimism that these animals spread. They are not perfect and have to make do with some makeshift and spare parts. But it works, with creativity and a little confidence.
In addition to these philosophical thoughts, the art of Matthias Garff and Thomas Putze naturally has much more to offer.
I will now hand over to Dr Michels, who will share her ART CONCEPT with us.
Volkmar Wywiol, Hamburg, 05.09.24