PHOTOGRAPHY
RONALD STOECKER
 
DETAILS
photographical Image, Pigment Print , Archive Paper, Edition 15
70 x 50 cm
2022
 
DESCRIPTION
"Series: Dark Matter Allocation
This series uses standard photography to capture close-up perspectives of what I term the surface of a city. From extremely small distances, graffiti, remnants of stickers, or simply faded paint transform into a peculiar texture—a miniature landscape that remains hidden when passing by a lamppost or an old backyard door, bearing years of overgrowth, spray, inscriptions, postings, and ongoing decay.
Seen from an intimate distance of just a few centimeters, a whole new world unfolds for my camera lens. I encounter a black stele rising above a pink pile of rubble, discover what seems to be light behind windows shaded by a mysterious gray cloud cover, and witness hellish dark matter creeping over the remnants of a broken home.
Though these excursions into the macro-sphere of my hometown can feel nightmarish, the images are, for me, an inseparable part of the city’s DNA. They sculpt a vision where the urban surface becomes a living archive, revealing the hidden energies and histories embedded in ordinary spaces."
 
BIOGRAPHY OF THE ARTIST
Ronald Stoecker (b. 1954, Essen, Germany) is a contemporary artist working with digital and analogue photography, scanning techniques, print processes, and mixed media. Originally trained as a biologist and chemist, he turned his focus to art and studied Photography and Media Art at the Freie Akademie der bildenden Künste Essen (HBK), graduating as a master student in 2021.
 
His work explores abstraction and experimental image-making, transforming visual reality through innovative photographic and generative processes. By moving beyond conventional aesthetics, Stoecker creates works that invite viewers into unfamiliar and imaginative realms. His internationally exhibited practice has received recognition through numerous exhibitions, awards, and publications across Europe and the United States.