Gitte Schäfer
25 May - 13 Jul 2013
GITTE SCHÄFER
Stellio
25 May – 13 July 2013
We are delighted to show new works by Gitte Schäfer (*1972 in Stuttgart, lives and works in the Simmental, CH) in her second solo exhibition in the gallery.
In the first room the visitor is welcomed by a rusty green tray, an object found by the artist near her new domicile in the Simmental, turned with some slight, precise adjustments by Gitte Schäfer into an enigmatic image. In this work called Sogno many elements can be found which are at the core of Gitte Schäfer's approach to art: As a learnt painter she knows about the principles of composition and calls a great sense of colour combination her own. The single added parts, in particular the mask, possess a large set of possible interpretations, which in the combination with the decayed, bent stump are even enhanced. A round dish made out of metal suggests a sun or a moon and transforms the tray into a scenic background.
In many works by Gitte Schäfer references to art history, especially to Surrealism, can be found. This allusions are sometimes explicitly mentioned in the titles (Sogno for example refers to Giorgio de Chirico and Stonewomen is an hommage to Meret Oppenheim). The artist underlines, that her works are offering many possibilities of interpretation and that it is up to the individual viewer to make up his mind. This openness of interpretation is important to her and is characteristic of her work. In the same room as Sogno is a second objet trouvé Chute douce, a rusty, auburn corrugated iron sheet, which through its hanging construction with a golden bar has been transformed into a curtain. These two works are similar in their materiality and spirit and establish in the front room a coherent overall picture.
In the second room Gitte Schäfer presents new display cabinets made with found frames and objects. These works represent painting with other means. The object Flötenwald astonishes through the alignment of different parts of flutes, complemented by Gitte Schäfer with feathers, parts of pepper mills and spools. In Corde Gitte Schäfer explores possibilities of colour compositions by combining a plastic turquoise, wound washing line with a pink background. In the work Contemplation Gitte Schäfer evokes a condensed tableau: She positions a seated, relaxing female wooden figure in a glass case, to which the artist lends with an ornamental fabric as its background a bourgeois mood. In the work Eliade Gitte Schäfer creates a surrealistic, nearly hyperrealistic ensemble: Three mushrooms made of plush and crêpe paper, two hand mirrors and a feather are the ingredients of this highly-concentrated showcase.
A series of four large display cabinets determines the opposite wall. Osmin alludes by means of a porcelain leg to the ideas of body separation inherent to Surrealism. A modelled sand stone denotes a spatial configuration. In Rasa alpine leather embellishment and two dry thistles suggest a face. In Scherben / Les casses she creates with olive green and light blue glass fragments a wonderful composition and in Stone Women (frei nach Meret Oppenheim) she pays tribute to the famous Swiss artist. In these four display cabinets Gitte Schäfer relies on different materials and found objects and achieves an impressive, permanently interweaving dialogue between the different works.
In the office hangs the work Eremitin (Female Hermit). On a dotted, gold background Gitte Schäfer positioned two glittering minerals. On the lower mineral lies a brown female porcelaine bust, glancing into the space. The artist evokes with spare means the loneliness of the female hermit and let a cloud of thoughts made of stone hoovering above her. Stellio is another work placed in the office. It could on first sight be interpreted as the coloured original of the blackand-white invitation card. But this is not the case: The invitation card is a found photograph and Stellio is its transformation into three dimension by the artist. This disguise of the authorship is a common feature of the objet trouvé and the Ready Made. One therefore encounters the disguised authorship in different variations in the works by Gitte Schäfer, which by the means of their composition and fabrication possess a tender lightness.
Stellio
25 May – 13 July 2013
We are delighted to show new works by Gitte Schäfer (*1972 in Stuttgart, lives and works in the Simmental, CH) in her second solo exhibition in the gallery.
In the first room the visitor is welcomed by a rusty green tray, an object found by the artist near her new domicile in the Simmental, turned with some slight, precise adjustments by Gitte Schäfer into an enigmatic image. In this work called Sogno many elements can be found which are at the core of Gitte Schäfer's approach to art: As a learnt painter she knows about the principles of composition and calls a great sense of colour combination her own. The single added parts, in particular the mask, possess a large set of possible interpretations, which in the combination with the decayed, bent stump are even enhanced. A round dish made out of metal suggests a sun or a moon and transforms the tray into a scenic background.
In many works by Gitte Schäfer references to art history, especially to Surrealism, can be found. This allusions are sometimes explicitly mentioned in the titles (Sogno for example refers to Giorgio de Chirico and Stonewomen is an hommage to Meret Oppenheim). The artist underlines, that her works are offering many possibilities of interpretation and that it is up to the individual viewer to make up his mind. This openness of interpretation is important to her and is characteristic of her work. In the same room as Sogno is a second objet trouvé Chute douce, a rusty, auburn corrugated iron sheet, which through its hanging construction with a golden bar has been transformed into a curtain. These two works are similar in their materiality and spirit and establish in the front room a coherent overall picture.
In the second room Gitte Schäfer presents new display cabinets made with found frames and objects. These works represent painting with other means. The object Flötenwald astonishes through the alignment of different parts of flutes, complemented by Gitte Schäfer with feathers, parts of pepper mills and spools. In Corde Gitte Schäfer explores possibilities of colour compositions by combining a plastic turquoise, wound washing line with a pink background. In the work Contemplation Gitte Schäfer evokes a condensed tableau: She positions a seated, relaxing female wooden figure in a glass case, to which the artist lends with an ornamental fabric as its background a bourgeois mood. In the work Eliade Gitte Schäfer creates a surrealistic, nearly hyperrealistic ensemble: Three mushrooms made of plush and crêpe paper, two hand mirrors and a feather are the ingredients of this highly-concentrated showcase.
A series of four large display cabinets determines the opposite wall. Osmin alludes by means of a porcelain leg to the ideas of body separation inherent to Surrealism. A modelled sand stone denotes a spatial configuration. In Rasa alpine leather embellishment and two dry thistles suggest a face. In Scherben / Les casses she creates with olive green and light blue glass fragments a wonderful composition and in Stone Women (frei nach Meret Oppenheim) she pays tribute to the famous Swiss artist. In these four display cabinets Gitte Schäfer relies on different materials and found objects and achieves an impressive, permanently interweaving dialogue between the different works.
In the office hangs the work Eremitin (Female Hermit). On a dotted, gold background Gitte Schäfer positioned two glittering minerals. On the lower mineral lies a brown female porcelaine bust, glancing into the space. The artist evokes with spare means the loneliness of the female hermit and let a cloud of thoughts made of stone hoovering above her. Stellio is another work placed in the office. It could on first sight be interpreted as the coloured original of the blackand-white invitation card. But this is not the case: The invitation card is a found photograph and Stellio is its transformation into three dimension by the artist. This disguise of the authorship is a common feature of the objet trouvé and the Ready Made. One therefore encounters the disguised authorship in different variations in the works by Gitte Schäfer, which by the means of their composition and fabrication possess a tender lightness.