Werner Buettner: Undichte Schluesselloecher: Exhibition Catalogue Cfa Contemporary Fine Arts Berlin

Has Werner Buettner's world of images indeed grown funnier, more colorful, or should one, follow­ing Kristian Vistrup Madsen's observations, consider it to be invariably gloomy and oppressive? The latter certainly applies to a work such as "Brueder (Kain + Abel)" from 1983, but no longer in such ­exclusivity to his most recent works. Here, the bitter singing of NO-FUTURE by the protagonists of the 1980s is accompanied by a good portion of ironic melancholy and caustic mockery. His use of color has also changed--the earthy tones giving way to a certain signal-like quality, yet without severing the connection to his earlier works. But what led to such a melancholy softening of his worldview? Is it a general consequence of getting older? Or is it based on the more specific consciousness of now actually being too old for the Not-wanting-to-become-like-the-old-folk (in the 1980s)? Or does everything have its rather simple reason in the realization: Alcohol (dis-)solves everything, or is it self-knowledge which outshines everything, but still can hardly prevent that madness and confusion that continues to play their game with us?