What we see usually seems clear and literally comprehensible to us. The exhibition REAL?! by the artists René Wirths, Andreas Blank and MK Kaehne, at the Kabinett Nazar Kvazar, takes its starting point precisely in this supposed certainty. The figurative, hyperrealistic and object-oriented works do not, in fact, turn out to be a confirmation of reality. They oscillate between the real, the image and the illusion, and, upon viewing, unfold as a source of confusion, as a precise alienation that raises more questions than it provides answers. CSR.ART presents the exhibition REAL?! from 24 April 2026, featuring paintings by René Wirths, sculptures by Andreas Blank and conceptual works by MK Kaehne, including a new piece being shown for the first time. In the cabinet: works by Nazar Kvazar. The opening will take place on Thursday, 23 April 2026 at 6 pm at CSR.ART in the presence of the artists.
Image caption: MK Kaehne, Jeanne mit Gorilla, 2026, Silicone, leather, acrylic glass, hair, chrome 140 x 112 x 149 cm, photo: Eric Tschernow
All four artists share a precise engagement with reality and, at the same time, a deliberate shifting of it. The works captivate with their exceptional precision of design. Familiar forms, objects or bodies appear unambiguous at first glance, yet upon closer inspection elude clear classification. It is precisely this moment in which ‘seeing’ is no longer a given. Between proximity and distance, recognition and doubt, a field of tension emerges in which perception is challenged rather than merely confirmed.
René Wirths | Painting
René Wirths’ large-format, hyperrealistic paintings depict everyday objects with such precision that it is almost impossible to distinguish between the object and its representation. Their sheer size alone raises doubts: is this a massively enlarged photograph? Or is it, after all, a painting? How is it possible to transfer a small object onto the canvas with such precision and, at the same time, on such a grand scale? The image defies clear classification and begins to detach itself from the object. What initially appears to be an exact reproduction develops a presence of its own. It confronts the viewer with the question of whether something is being depicted here, or whether the image itself becomes the subject.
In addition, Wirth is exhibiting new letter-paintings. These, too, defy immediate legibility. Letters seem to tilt, to glide, resisting any attempt by the eyes and the mind to grasp them. A sense of visual uncertainty arises: the brain searches for orientation, tries to recognise words … and comes to a standstill. Even when the titles are familiar and the word should be clear, it remains elusive. Here, seeing becomes an active, physical, almost strenuous process. As in his object paintings, Wirth is not concerned with representation, but with the conditions of seeing itself. With the fragile boundary between what we believe we recognise and what eludes perception.
Andreas Blank | Sculpture
Andreas Blank’s sculptures translate this sense of disorientation into the material realm. Folded white shirts, a pair of black men’s shoes, a plastic bag that appears to have been left lying there by chance. Here, objects stand in the room that one thinks one recognises. And which turn out to be marble sculptures.
The utmost precision in execution is ‘merely’ part of the process. For Blank, the choice of stone is crucial: the artist searches with equal meticulousness for the perfect marble that captures the surface of the depicted object with near-perfect naturalism. The illusion begins with the material itself.
MK Kaehne | Concept
In MK Kaehne’s conceptual works, the hyperrealistic approach coalesces into a presentation that is as precise as it is unsettling. The attention to detail serves as a means of creating a situation that is both credible and difficult to categorise. It is precisely in this power of persuasion that the shift begins.
A new work by MK Kaehne, on public display for the first time, forms another focal point of the exhibition. A young woman named Jeanne is holding a gorilla in her arms. The scene feels both familiar and utterly improbable. Yet, in its hyperrealistic execution, it defies any quick interpretation. What appears to be a frozen moment creates a peculiar tension between intimacy, projection and construction. The work raises the question of what is actually perceived as ‘real’ here.
Nazar Kvazar | Plastics
In the window cabinet, Nazar Kvazar is exhibiting new sculptures: hyper-realistic hands that seem to ‘grow’ out of flower pots. A minimalist arrangement that defies immediate interpretation and is effective precisely because it unsettles the viewer.
REAL?! explores hyperrealism as a disruption of certainty. What we see appears unambiguous. Yet it veers into the uncertain, and sometimes even the uncanny, the moment we turn our attention to it. Painting, sculpture and objects operate on the boundary between representation and construction. Here, reality is not depicted, but re-created. Or, to be more precise: it only comes into being in the moment of attentive observation.
René Wirths (born in 1967 in Waldbröl, lives in Berlin) studied Fine Art at the Berlin University of the Arts from 1992 to 1998 and was a master student of Wolfgang Petrick. His painting focuses on the precise depiction of objects, which he studies directly in his studio without photographic aids and transfers to the canvas in an oversized, hyperrealistic manner.
Solo exhibitions have taken him to Berlin, Paris, Zurich, Prague and Rotterdam, among other places. Wirths is represented by Galerie Haas in Berlin and Zurich, as well as GALERIE TEMPLON PARIS and GALERIE TEMPLON BRUXELLES. His works are held in international collections, including the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.
Andreas Blank (born in 1976 in Ansbach, lives and works in Berlin) is a contemporary sculptor. His practice is rooted in technical precision and an intensive exploration of materiality and perception. Blank creates sculptures that render everyday objects with formal precision, thereby exploring the boundary between object and representation. He studied from 2001 to 2006 at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe under Prof. Harald Klingelhöller, was a visiting student with Andreas Slominski at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg in 2007, and attended the Royal College of Art in London from 2008 to 2009. He has received numerous grants and awards, including the Sculpture Award at art KARLSRUHE in 2024. His works have been shown in solo and group exhibitions in Berlin, London, New York, Seoul, Milan, Paris and Naples, amongst other places.
MK Kaehne (born in 1963 in Vilnius, lives and works in Berlin and Brandenburg) studied painting at the Berlin-Weißensee School of Art from 1983 to 1988. His work spans sculpture, installation and drawing, and is shaped by a life spent between Vilnius, Moscow and Berlin. Coming from a background in painting, he developed a sculptural practice that is often constructivist in nature and addresses social and biographical themes in precisely constructed objects. Kaehne has had numerous solo and group exhibitions both in Germany and abroad and has worked, among other things, as a lecturer at the Berlin University of the Arts and the Dresden University of the Arts.
Nazar Kvazar (born in Aktobe, Kazakhstan; lives and works in Berlin) is a contemporary artist whose predominantly sculptural works explore the hyperrealistic representation of the human body. His practice navigates the tension between bodily fragments and disorientation. He uses precise replicas and transposes them into a different context in order to challenge perception.
WHEN?
Vernissage: Thursday, 23 April 2026, from 6 pm, in the presence of the artists
Exhibition dates: Friday 24 April – Saturday 30 May 2026
Tuesday – Saturday 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
WHERE?
CSR.ART
Budapester Straße 35-50
on the ground floor, to the left of the entrance, towards the Zoo Palast cinema
10787 Berlin
