André Schulze, Philipp Alexander Schäfer
07.11.2025 - 16.01.2026
Flamingo Paradox
E30 Gallery
André Schulze and Philipp Alexander Schäfer challenge the perception of analog in the digital age
In this double exhibition at the E30 Gallery Frankfurt, two conceptually rigorous positions in contemporary art come together: André Schulze (Dresden) and Philipp Alexander Schäfer (Frankfurt). This show is a radical examination of digital aesthetics, material obsolescence and the paradoxical relationship between our cultural memory and the algorithmically influenced present.
The title "Flamingo Paradox" stands for the surreal irony with which the artists transform established realities. Here you will experience how the highest form of preservation becomes the basis for new creation.
The authority of André Schulze's Schulze's art is based on his unique dual qualification: he is a trained painting restorer and was a master student of Prof. Christian Macketanz at the HfBK Dresden. This knowledge gives him a unique understanding of the "inner workings of classical painting".
For his vintage series, Schulze reworks traditional paintings from the last hundred years, giving them a "second life" through a combination of restoration and contemporary overpainting. He applies technically flawless hyper-realistic or digital motifs, such as pixelation, to the historical canvas. Experience how icons such as the "Girl with a Pearl Earring" are pixelated or Minions are mounted in a mountain landscape. Thematically, Schulze's work is deeply rooted in the heritage of the East. His series of functional buildings focuses on industrial power houses and transforms this architecture with surreal and ironic interventions - including the eponymous flamingos - into melancholy, colorful landscapes.
Philipp Alexander Schäfer is one of the most conceptually distinctive voices in Frankfurt. His specialty lies in the synthesis of his careers: After helping to shape the Frankfurt art scene for over two decades with his "City Ghosts", he was a lecturer in methods of empirical social research at Goethe University.
His art is a materialized commentary. The fundamental deviation from conventional painting lies in the radical choice of medium: Schäfer applies classic oil painting directly to recycled computer circuit boards (PCBs). The physical support becomes a statement of technological obsolescence and a critical reflection on AI and consumption. Conceptually, Schäfer's painting focuses on the systematic critique of artificial perception. Although the paintings initially appear deceptively real, they reveal a "surreally flawed" structure, as in his intertwined, seemingly infinite flamingo necks. Schäfer thus visualizes the inherent error in the code and offers you a methodical diagnosis of digital reality. The painting is complemented by sculptures, such as a fire extinguisher that appears to be melting into the ground.
"Flamingo Paradox" is a curatorial bridge: analog depth meets digital fragmentation. The exhibited works are a mirror of our time and offer intellectual precision and emotional radiance - they are symbols of an age in which memory, matter and information merge.
Vernissage: Friday, November 7, 2025, 19:30 - 21:30 The artists will be present.
Further opening hours: Sundays 14:00 to 16:00 and at any time free of charge by individual appointment.
E30 Gallery
Egenolffstr. 30
60316 Frankfurt am Main