In Encounters: Matter and Meaning, two forms of artistic expression enter into dialogue: the oil paitnings of Eberhard Bitter and sculptural vessels of Marina Wittemann.

Bitter’s paintings reflect the quiet complexity of human existence and experience. Moments of encounter between individuals or between the self and one’s own inner emotional world; a tension between proximity and distance, offer space for contemplation and reflection. The reduced human bodies dance with one another in an expression of their inner realm.

Wittemann’s sculptures made from recycled newspapers challenge our perception of bodily and emtional experience. Her sculptural vessels—constructed with wire and wood as a scaffolding and newspaper as carrier of information—become a material bearer of memory, opinion, and physical encounters. By folding, and repurposing printed words and graphics, once an expression of opinion shaping media, and an apparent carrier of truth, she reshapes them to become a source of reflection and search for authenticity. These objects suggest that bodily reaction to an emotional state is undeniable and cannot be influenced by a conscious thought. As such, the sculptures become a reminiscence of human bodies exposed to the media influence in their pursuit of truth.