Feio 2007 Tomma Abts
Turner Prize winner Tomma Abts is a German artist and professor at Düsseldorf’s Kunstakademie (art academy). From 16 July to 09 October 2011, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf will be exhibiting 12 of her canvases and a series of previously unknown drawings, exploring the relationship between space, lines and shapes. Abts, who currently lives in London, has already had her work featured by numerous internationally renowned art institutes.
The special thing about Abts’ paintings is that she only creates between two and eight a year because each one is subject to a painstaking production and correction process. The paintings have various things in common – each one is made up of geometric shapes painted in oil and acrylic on a 48 x 38 cm portrait format and each one is made up of multiple layers (sometimes you can even catch glimpses of the original canvas), which – as one journalist pointed out – makes you feel as if you “could really dive in and get lost in the picture”. Despite their common features, each painting is unique and there is always something new to discover.
At first glance, the paintings might not appear like much, but when you take a closer look you realise that they have more to offer. In homage to her birthplace of Kiel, Abts has given each of the paintings a person’s name from this area. I must admit that the one pictured here (Feio) actually reminds me of turquoise chopsticks tugging at black noodles surrounded by swirls of ketchup and mayonnaise! This kind of art may seem inaccessible to some, but it’s interesting to analyse and ask yourself what it means to you personally – other motifs that I personally recognise are lightning, rope, a windmill and waves, but why not see for yourself – this interesting (and very different) exhibition is certainly worth checking out!
The admission price is EUR 5.50 for adults and EUR 3.50 for concessions
KUNSTHALLE DÜSSELDORF
Grabbeplatz 4
40213 Düsseldorf
