Exhibition by Klaus Mertens

13-30 June 2011. This exhibition displays the paintings, objects and wood cuts by the German artist Klaus Mertens. Mertens started his career as an architect and later moved to fine arts.

In his early career he had great success with prints and produced a large collection of woodcuts, his so called Woodcut Tattoos, inspired by the human body. His woodcuts recall patterns and ornaments with an occult and strength expression. He also produced a series of graphics, the so called Social Prints, which portray poetic, sensitive images such as portraits and landscapes and combine elements of pop art and traditional wooden engraving.

Mertens has lived in Addis Ababa since 2007, where he teaches at the School of Fine Arts and Design. He is currently engaged with the mediums of sculpture, photography and performance. Famous are his three-dimensional works such as Fashion Racks, Jungle Fighters and Hidden Secret, in which he transforms the elements found in nature into artificial emblems of civilization.