The German abstract painter Ralph Gelbert at Hicks Gallery, London

The German abstract painter Ralph Gelbert has his first one man show in the UK until 14th November 2010.

Fire Island, (C) Raplh Gelbert

The Hicks Gallery, which does'nt have many abstract painters on its books, has done well in choosing Gelbert to add to its artists. His work has an 'old school' vitality and energy, often lacking in contemporary abstraction.

According to the German Embassy press release: 'It is not always necessary to rely on recognizable and familiar objects to explore a new  world or a different reality.  For several centuries, two major culture-building factors were responsible for the creation of a subjective reality distanced from the real  and ordinary world, and they are still valid today: religion and art, which often and deliberately interacted in a fruitful way.  Ralph Gelbert’s paintings, especially the larger formats, offer the chance to discover such imaginary worlds, instantaneously spellbinding the viewer.'

In my thinking abstraction is 'of itself' and does'nt need to send you into a 'different relaity', at its best it should heighten our experience of this reality and Ralph Gelbert goes some way in achieving this..

Venue: Hicks Gallery, 2 Leopold Road, Wimbledon, SW19 7BD Tel: 020 8944 7171

Opening Hours: Thursday - Saturday: 10:00am - 6:00pm,  Sunday: 1:30pm - 5:00pm