Jutta Mattern
We make our way to the south side of the exhibition space, where an artwork by Heike Weber is positioned on the ground. An ornamental surface shines up at us in radiant white against the dark wood floor. It plays with a variety of formal elements and achieves sculptural quality in lively interaction with the space that surrounds it. A drawing made of the cheap mass-produced material silicone and applied using an ordinary caulking gun is diametrically opposed to the precious gold of the Apostle frescoes. The ìcarpetî and its countless linear plaits and patterns are irresistible nonetheless, encouraging us to discover, circle and dive into its individual labyrinthine system. We are not allowed to step on it: it does not protect the floor, to which it draws attention in its delicateness and fragility, as a real carpet would. Heike Weber incorporates elements of the ?former ornamental decoration of Speyer Cathedral by Joseph Schwarzmann into her work. The Apostles must feel at home in this familiar environment. The unrestrained gestural brushstroke of Heike Weberís decorative lines takes its cue from floral motifs and forms that find their ultimate expression in Islamic art and Christian ornamentation. This combination of patterns that can hardly be disentangled from one another creates a whole here, in Rolandseck: irresistible and transcending any spiritual doubt.