The Collector of Moments

Quint Buchholz's trademark is the precise depiction not only of the real world as we perceive it but also of a magical space whose contents, at first glance familiar, nevertheless behave most unpredictably. Objects in his pictures defy gravity and float in mid-air; inhabited places cannot be reached by visible paths. Perspective and spatial relationships often take on a surreal twist. His pictures, always, are loaded with a mysterious quietude, as if under a spell that must be broken before the rhythm of a picture becomes apparent. Spell-breaking, however, is a task that Buchholz leaves to the viewer. This is the case in his new book, too.

The story is about an artist and a boy. The boy feels drawn to Max, the painter, spending entire days in the silence of his studio. The pictures that Max is painting, however, are never shown to him. It is only when the artist departs for a long journey, leaving him the key, that the boy enters the room alone - and finds an entire exhibition, for him only.

The longer he views the pictures, the more he loses himself in them. Sometimes he remembers conversations with Max, relating them to a particular canvas. But most of all, he discovers in each picture an individual story that only he can see, hear and feel, and which sets the painted world in motion.

Der Sammler der Augenblicke is the tale of a friendship. Max shows his young friend that there is more to the world than the fleeting glances of the casual observer reveal. It is full of surprises and wonders to be discovered if we will allow ourselves a moment of reflection.