'Every Now and Then' by Matthias Esch and Thilo Jenssen at New Now, Frankfurt

EVERY NOW AND THEN

As the song goes:

Every now and then I fall apart Every now and then I fall apart Every now and then

I get a little bit angry

Every now and then I get a little bit terrified But now I'm only falling apart

Every now and then I fall apart Every now and then I fall apart...

Bonnie Tyler,"total Eclipse of the heart“

Most recent show hosted by NEW NOW Frankfurt, brings up close the work of Matthias Esch and Thilo Jenssen in a duo exhibition called: Every now and then. The starting point for this project was the well known Bonnie Tyler’s song „Total eclipse of the heart”. As one may easily find out - Every now and then can refer to a lot of things but the topic addressed here is the futile condition in which society is attempting to structure and systemize humanity. Matthias Esch works illustrate emotions such death, grief or love translated in gestures symbols or patterns trough an level or repetition that can lead to an intense meditative, almost mystical process. The laborious network of lines and rhythm used by the artist are inclining to certain nostalgia feel. While Thilo’s works act as traces that allow association to pop-cultural and everyday phenomena. Shimmer between materiality and pop culture. We recognize faces, brandings in abstract structures, welded metal pipes are cigarettes, but transport certain brutality beyond their making, which goes beyond their possible function as ashtrays. What brings the two together at a conceptual level is the resonance over the sence of dystopia, while longing for something unsayable; an everyday, emotional and deeply human.

— Gabriel Stoian, 2019