Falk Gernegross paints scenes from the calm before the storm, scenes of innocence and open-ended possibility. He establishes a rich tension between stillness and simmering forward motion, pausing each character just before they commit themselves to a more determined or compelling form of action. In this arrested state, fantasy reigns supreme; beauty has not yet been reduced to a decisive fate. The innocence of each character is kept intact, putting the onus upon the viewer to fill in the blanks as they see fit. Is it love or lust? Are they strangers or old friends? Have we become voyeurs of a private act, or has that act been put on display for us?

Outstretched nudes and contemplative domestic snapshots are rendered with sympathy, emulating both the vibrant contours of renaissance painting and the life-affirming impulse of surrealism. The artist imbues each scene with candour, unearthing a light-hearted humour which naturally inhabits moments of intense eros as easily as it does the banality of daily routine. His figures appear to be out of step with time, at once both futuristic and old-world. Their gazes wander towards some point just beyond the canvas, their suspended poses saturated with deep currents of yearning.