Wood, lacquer, cardboard and electrics, 140 x 160, Städtische Sammlung Erlangen
Claus Richter's multimedia installations and figures are nostalgically reminiscent of toy worlds and theater sets - in his exhibitions he creates worlds of illusion.
Pique-Dame has been part of the Städtische Sammlung Erlangen since 2021 and was first shown in 2020 as part of the exhibition Im Lichte der Nacht - die Stadt schläft nie at KAI 10 in Düsseldorf. For this exhibition, Claus Richter created a diffusely lit street scene in which we look into the illuminated windows and behind the scenes of a city at night. At the center of Richter's still lifes are social outsiders. The protection of the semi-darkness offers space for transformation and debauchery and the unfolding of alternative lifestyles. Social, moral and aesthetic differences lose their contours in the diffuse light of the nocturnal city and conceal the misery and poverty that underlie some of the scenes.
