FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
ALBERT OEHLEN
Painter of Light
September 15 - October 28, 2006
Opening reception September 15, 6-8 pm.


Luhring Augustine is pleased to present an exhibition of new abstract paintings by Albert Oehlen, opening on September 15 and closing on October 21, 2006. This will be Oehlen's seventh solo show at Luhring Augustine.

Albert Oehlen has redefined the boundaries of both figurative and abstract painting, expanding the definition of what makes a painting formally successful. While conscious of the conventional rules of painting, Oehlen specifically works against these theories of color and composition to expose their limitations. In a method akin to surrealism, Oehlen depicts seemingly unrelated colors and images, which when combined suggest stream of conscious associations. This subversive process of abstraction has broadened the vocabulary of traditional painting and proven revelatory to his contemporaries.

In the early 1980's Albert Oehlen first started showing in Germany and thereafter began exhibiting worldwide. Oehlen has recently become one of the most important artists working today as the significance of his work and conceptual process makes its mark on the discourse of painting. Albert Oehlen's contribution to the art historical lineage of German painting is now clearly defined as a newly established generation of artists cites him as a major influence.

Albert Oehlen is currently exhibiting throughout Europe and the United States in several venues. The exhibition at Luhring Augustine coincides with a solo show at the Whitechapel Art Gallery, in London, and at the Arnolfini in Bristol. Oehlen is featured in "Make Your Own Life: Artist In & Out of Cologne" at the ICA in Philadelphia; an exhibition that attempts to define the influence of the Cologne school on contemporary art. He is re-contextualized with the Surrealist painters in "Gods in Exile: Salvador Dalí, Albert Oehlen, et al.," at the Kunsthaus Graz. Oehlen's exhibition at MOCA, Miami last December introduced his abstract paintings to an enthusiastic American audience in his first solo museum show in the United States. Oehlen has also had significant exhibitions at the Musee Cantonal Des Beaux Arts in Lausanne, the Kestner Gesellschaft in Hannover, the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Renaissance Society, Chicago, the Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, IVAM Centre de Carme, Valencia, and at the Kunsthalle Basel.

For further information, please contact Claudia Altman-Siegel at (212) 206-9100, or visit our website www.luhringaugustine.com.