A Sense of Beauty

Jochen Lemperts analogue black-and-white photographs show plants, animals, and natural phenomena in everyday situations that are often overlooked. His Jahresgabe to the Kunstverein is an exploration of the relationship between nature and culture, addressing questions of boundaries that are only naturalised and clarified in retrospect. 

Pigeons mark the transition from nature to culture, and show that urban ecosystems are by no means removed from nature. They are descendants of rock- and domestic pigeons, perfectly adapted to architecture and human routines, making them symbols of both closeness and conflict. In Lempert’s work, the pigeon does not appear as a disruptive urban animal, but as an actor in an urban ecology and part of a complex coexistence, a counterpart that helps shape the urban landscape. Thoughtful, relaxed, almost dreamy in its position near the Main River, Lempert shows the pigeon from the perspective of a collegial fellow observer. How do pigeons decide where to linger? Do they follow aesthetic criteria? Do they perhaps even have a sense of beauty?