Transit. After the Journey

Courtesy Paulina Caspari

The title Transit describes a state without a destination: a movement whose meaning only becomes apparent in retrospect. Transit unfolds intuitively without a predetermined plan. Thomas Rentmeister’s artistic practice can be understood in a similar way.

Rentmeister’s working process is systematic and meticulous, but he rarely aims towards a predetermined final form. Through constant adjustment, experimentation and rejection, he develops an ongoing dialogue with the material, learning to work with it as much as to negotiate its possibilities.

This approach is evident in the works presented in this exhibition, many of which are made from objects that have already lived one or more lives: old doors, readymades such as decorative stones from a home-improvement store and a neon sign. What interests Rentmeister most about these objects is what time has left behind on their surfaces. The transformation at the heart of Transit is already inherent in these materials. They are after the journey.

Works such as After the Journey, created specifically for Rentmeister’s first solo exhibition at Paulina Caspari, formally captures the journey or movement through and within space, unfolding across different temporal frames. Created from the exterior paneling of two old caravans, the sculpture evokes a Cubist understanding of space and time. It arrives at its present, balanced form polygon by polygon, without the aid of a preliminary sketch.

Through the multiplication of perspectives, the complex form reveals the temporal nature of its creation. The mottled, off-white hues produced by weathering cast new shadows, open up additional spaces, and deepen the perception of time within the sculpture. Rentmeister’s works often carry this distinctive patina of use and time. He does not utilize these surfaces to aestheticize material decay, but instead for their visual effects that change with light and the viewer’s perspective, beyond the artist’s full control. The works therefore relate to the spaces in which they are situated. The particular relationship between the work and its reception changes with every movement to a different location.

Transit. After the Journey brings together selected works from the past ten years alongside new works created specifically for this exhibition, focusing on this particular moment in Rentmeister’s practice.