Collaborating twin artists Gert and Uwe Tobias, born in Romania in 1973, have created an eclectic body of work including woodcuts, sculptures, collages, and drawings. After moving to Germany in 1985, they pursued studies in Braunschweig and now reside and create in Cologne. Their artistic style draws from the influence of communism-era aesthetics, coupled with European folklore and German post-war painting.
The Tobias brothers’ oversized woodcuts and grandiose murals pay homage to modernist geometric abstraction, yet merge elements of line, form, color, and typography with the storytelling imagery and ornamental designs of folk art. Depictions of flowers, plants, patterns, embroidery, and domestic objects adorn their pieces, transforming them into whimsical stage sets where splashes of pigments and found images of animals or humans perform a vibrant drama. A playful air coalesces with violent undertones as body parts are fragmented and dispersed throughout the composition. These dismembered figures often mutate into flora or fauna, evoking a macabre yet innocent surreality that is signature to the Tobias’ repertoire. In addition, the duo employs an antiquated typewriter to create intricate drawings that capture the eye with their raw intensity.
Embracing ceramics as an extension of their diverse portfolio, the artists warps mass-produced crockery with added ceramic protrusions and colorful glazes, transforming an ordinary plate or vase into an expressionistic sculpture. The Tobias brothers blur the lines between traditional craft and fine art, abstract concepts and subconscious fantasies, and modernity and tradition with their thought-provoking creations.
