I am glad to put up with him

In every friendship, in every relationship that lasts for years there are ups and downs – a common wisdom.
It is no different in my contacts with the artists of the Born Gallery.
Except for the special case of Strawalde. Sometimes you sit with him, you’re bothered about the same topics he comes up with again and again, you want to holler in between, stop now, I know all that by now, I’ve heard it a thousand times.
But I keep quiet, I don’t say anything at first, because we always come a little faster, sometimes slower, to talk about his art and a whole lot happens. There he stands before me with his almost 85 years, presenting me his 9 canvases, 200 x 170 cm for the exhibition in the St.-Matthäus-Kirche at Kulturforum in Berlin, that he didn’t want to paint in the first place. When I then simply ordered the canvases and had them brought to his studio, the barrier was broken. Ten days later, I couldn’t believe my eyes, Strawalde was in his element, the first three works were already emerging. And not in the manner one often finds in contemporary art, a series. In Strawalde’s case, there are once again nine individual paintings.
In his multifaceted language of color, each one stands for itself, each one draws a bow back to earlier works, without repeating them, all descendants of one family.
The nine canvases have now taken their place in the exhibition, the works, smaller ones of course, which are shown parallel in exhibitions of GALERIE BORN, Berlin and in Born a. Darss, have been selected on long lasting evenings.
And then, when saying goodbye, after a long talk, the time is far past, it may be that Strawalde remarks: “You will not live to see it, but in 100 years this painting will receive its rightful appreciation”.
Neither of us need to experience it… because we know it.
 
Matthias Fuhrmann