Olaf Breuning’s work is marked by a particular humor which runs rampant throughout his entire production. The Swiss artist’s ceramics and drawings presented here belie a witty naïvety. The titles are essential to the works’ inherent comedy, which initially seems far away from the seriousness often associated with fine art.
In an almost irreverent manner, Breuning’s work often appropriates significant pieces from the canon of art history, in a manner that is both offensive and amusing. This is the case with his ceramic work: There is always someone smiling – not just at us but also at themselves. And it is not without a good dose of irony that the fragmented figures, all disfigured by pain, are stylistically reminiscent of Picasso’s monumental painting Guernica. Breuning shamelessly employs Picasso’s work as his own but with a humorous twist, carefully balancing the carefree attitude of a child and the dark humor of a cynic.
