The Disappeared and the Lost

Solo exhibition by German artist Stephan Kaluza. The paintings in The Disappeared and the Lost are hyperreal rather than photorealistic, constructed as an amalgamation of references from Costa Rica to Southeast Asia that form a fading natural non-place. Kaluza scatters these references across his studio floor, where elements like ferns and undergrowth become montages that could originate from many locations. Through this process of distorting nature into a more-than-real fantasy, Kaluza navigates our dislocation from the natural world as we encounter fleeting beauty—moments before it disappears.