Rubber Knife Michael Günzer

Michael Günzer (b. 1982 in Ulm, DE) presents his second solo exhibition Rubber Knife with Ruttkowski;68 in Paris.

Michael Günzer’s protagonists are the “strongmen” of our time, the influential and right-wing populist men from politics and business, who also express their masculinity and physical strength in their exercise of power.

In a multi-part oil painting, Günzer brings together like-minded men including Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Sergei Lavrov, the German Reichsbürger Peter Fitzek and Jeff Bezos in a group portrait. Aging, shirtless men in wrestling shorts, Dada costumes, uniforms and jeans, some running with clenched fists, become an absurd choreography of old, power-hungry billionaires.

Other works show the same protagonists engaged in two or three-way fights. Men wrestling in and on top of each other rival each other in battle. Inspired by martial arts, Günzer brings the bodies and their actions to wrestle down and disable their opponents to the canvas. These paintings represent their physical and psychological dynamics and symbolise the devious, ruthless tactics of the characters within this political conflict.

The rubber knife is a training weapon in martial arts, simulating the use of a knife, but also being a seemingly harmless toy. This duality acts as a metaphor for the power games and deceptions with which these players operate.

Opening reception      30/08/2025      6-8 pm

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