David OstrowskiThe Critic

David Ostrowski (*1981, lives in Cologne) works on a painting that moves in the field of tension between restraint and poeticisation. Intimation and full articulation enter into a dynamic interplay. He works in groups of works, of which the “F” series is a formative one. At first glance their reduced pictorial surfaces appear minimal, yet they are shot through with superimpositions and condensations in which a multi-layered process inscribes itself. The book and the exhibition for the Kunstverein Heilbronn are devoted to the idea of self-referential criticism and to the critical demands placed on one’s own artistic production. The title, borrowed from an American cartoon series of the 1990s, reflects the figure of the relentless reviewer and turns his critical gaze inwards. In the text by Hans-Christian Dany it says: “In David’s movement there [is] no unbroken escapism. The paths by which he finds his way out remain visible, as does the misery they lead out of. And these flights recall somersaults rather than dramatic stunts, forgoing the ambition of the accomplished caper. While tumbling, David prefers to transform the teeth of the false life into a rubber Dracula denture, which he makes bounce up and down on the floor like a rubber ball until it turns into a provocation of itself – one that allows him to go on painting.”

Exhibition:
Kunstverein Heilbronn, 23/5 – 23/8/2026