Image: Städtische Galerie Bremen ; Hervé Maillet
The Städtische Galerie Bremen is presenting ‘PASSING SNOW – Skulpturen und Zeichnungen’, a solo exhibition by Gunther Gerlach that brings together sculpture groups, large-format steel prints, etchings and works on paper. The exhibition runs from 16 August through 18 October 2026 at the gallery on Buntentorsteinweg in Bremen.
The presentation focuses on Gerlach’s engagement with sculpture, space and the passage of time. Among the works listed by the gallery are the wooden sculptures ‘Im Hintergrund: schweigend’ (1999/2026), ‘Im Hintergrund: Versuch einer Begegnung’ (2000/2026), ‘dunkler Ort’ (1986/2026), ‘ferner Ort’ (1986/2026) and ‘going fishing’ (2009/2026). The works use wood that has been painted, blackened, flamed or whitened, and include forms that are abstract while retaining suggestions of the human figure.
The exhibition also includes ‘sculptors dream’, a group of white-painted steel prints dated 1999/2025, alongside other works on fabric, handmade paper and paper. The gallery describes these flat works as populated by white figures against black spatial depths. In the exhibition’s arrangement, these images meet Gerlach’s three-dimensional constructions, extending his investigation from individual objects to groups, installations and the spaces between them.
The title ‘PASSING SNOW’ refers to the tension between transience and persistence. The exhibition text describes moments of intuition as brief experiences that can nevertheless leave a lasting impression, while wood and paper carry their own vulnerability as materials. A short accompanying poem evokes snow that falls, remains until morning, then passes and reveals what had been hidden during the night.
Gerlach’s approach is framed by an interest in the relationship between form and space. The gallery’s text emphasizes that the distance between things can be physical, temporal or perceptual, and that breaks, gaps and divisions can alter the meaning of an individual work. In a statement included with the exhibition, Gerlach writes that cutting or opening up wood produces a new constellation and new perspectives. He adds that his forms repeatedly incline toward the human figure, allowing viewers to recognize themselves in abstraction.
The gallery has scheduled an opening event for 15 August from 7 to 11 p.m., followed by an artist talk on 17 September from 7 to 9 p.m. Additional ‘Kunst & Yoga in der Galerie’ sessions are listed for 19 August, 2 September, 30 September and 14 October, each from 6 to 8 p.m. The Städtische Galerie Bremen is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.; admission is free. The gallery is accessible and the exhibition remains on view until 18 October 2026.
