Johannes Seluga at Setareh
Horror has a new face. This face has no features. It might reflect our innermost fears, those which could render our lives unlivable. The horrifying and the genre of horror are two separate entities, the former something that can present itself to us, force itself upon us, in our real, material lives, whereas the latter is an art form. It is evocative, and can represent or fictionalise real stories, but we mostly experience it at an arm's length. Johannes Seluga, Der Schüler, 2024. Oil on linen, 85cm x 66cm. Image courtesy of the artist and Setareh. German artist Johannes Seluga's latest body of work at Setareh, a gallery with outposts in Dusseldorf and Berlin, but now boasts a new prime spot in London, directly facing Gagosian on Grosvenor Hill. Its proximity to such a globalised institution gave me (misguided) preconceptions, so what awaited me was something of a surprise, in both pleasant and challenging ways. When I made a remark to the gallerist about the horror t...
