Walter GrasskampGesprache mit Ben Willikens

Ben Willikens (*1939 in Leipzig) has probed the historical and symbolic dimensions of space in his paintings and prints for more than four decades. Using clinical interiors, he has pursued the theme of space, ranging from deserted variations of the Last Supper and its tectonic antitheses to buildings constructed by the Nazis, which are portrayed in the series Orte (Places). Somewhere between the poles of impersonal claustrophobia and a "metaphysical space" drenched in light, as Heinrich Klotz described them, Willikens's vedutas are more than just pictures of architecture: they are attempts to comprehend space as a metaphor for human sensibilities. In exhaustive, intriguing conversations with art critic Walter Grasskamp, Willikens provides information about the creation and development of his working concept, and also talks for the first time about more recent directions and the kind of preparatory work that must be done before beginning with the work of art itself.