“Drawing is a practice, a sentiment, a technique, a desire.” This statement by Jean Luc Nancy, an expert in the field, could serve as a motto for the exhibition of Hannes Malte Mahler, the second in the series “zeichnen heute” (drawing today). Mahler works in various artistic media, including painting, drawing, prints, performance and actions. His dedication to the medium of drawing is not due to any contemporary trends, but is rather the result of years-long practice. The exhibition in Bonn provides a glance behind the scenes and offers a regard oblique onto 25 years of artistic work. The drawings on view were by no means all intended to be exhibited, since they were in many cases produced before, after, parallel and even in opposition to other artistic activities, although in some cases they were also created as the “primary work”, to which he directed his complete artistic attention. The exhibition ventures an experiment and presents both the “private” and the “public” and raises the question of whether this distinction is or can be meaningful, since drawings are considered the most immediate, intimate expression of an artistic personality and they are also associated with an increased guarantee of authenticity. (Anne-Marie Bonnet)