Karin Kneffel

In Karin Kneffel’s works, her true to nature painting style is in an intriguing juxtaposition to a subliminal, irrational aspect, which renders the subject puzzling. The selective angle of view, the choice of segments, as well as the monumental enlargement of specific subjects are perplexing. The contradiction between the supposedly self-evidence of the artist’s true to nature interpretation and the uncertainty caused by the defamiliarized forms of depiction represents the concept of Karin Kneffel’s art. She poses the question whether nature is merely being imitated or also interpreted artistically and picks out the tangible alienation of Modern Man from nature, the loss of direct connection, as a central theme of her work. In her work Kneffel explores the relationship between reality and reproduction, between seduction and distance.

The present exhibition focuses on paintings and watercolors which are part of Kneffel’s art over the last eight years. Images of fruit and ornamentally arranged foodstuffs, reminiscent of still lifes, represent a continuation along the lines of older themes of the artist, which she has been working on since the 1980s. At the center of the exhibition one finds a new series of interiors. Realistically depicted surfaces adjoin polished floors in which objects are mirrored and motion can be sensed. A narrative is evoked, which can be sensed atmospherically, but which cannot be defined precisely. The only living creatures in these segemental interiors are lone dogs and exotic wild animals which are decoratively displayed like hunting trophies. The ornamental pattern of the interior is continued in the detailed painting of the markings on the animal bodies and skins.

Since the very beginning of her career, the artist has again and again spent periods in which she has concentrated on working with the medium watercolor. Meanwhile, an extensive iconographic repertoire has evolved exhibiting motifs that overlap with those found in her paintings. At the same time, there are also independent groups of motifs, which up until now have found no or almost no translation into the paintings, such as the motif of man “in” nature and the arrangement of people against the backdrop of nature.

Pressetext

Karin Kneffel
Seduction and Distance