R-24 #12

Reinhard Kleist's "Steeplechase" dominates this 2001 entry in Reprodukt's R-24 series, its cover immediately pulling you into an unsettling carnival atmosphere — a grinning, wide-eyed face emblazoned on a Steeplechase amusement facade looms over three gaunt, ink-rendered figures who regard the viewer with weary, hollow expressions. The tension between that plastered showman's smile above and the haunted humanity below gives Kleist's cover a quietly unnerving charge. At 5.00 DEM, this is a compact but striking showcase of Kleist's confident linework and painterly background work working in striking contrast.