press release only in german

Kamilla Bischof makes use of predominantly representational motifs in her paintings and develops an allegorical and surreal image language that touches upon both the real and the imaginary. Embedded in abstracted environments or stage-like interiors, surrounded by vegetation or fantastical animals, it is foremost Bischof’s grotesquely exaggerated figures that convey an urgency, a strange other-worldliness and at once a strong presence, while the scenes surrounding them often recede to the background, fading out or even become frayed. Whether fully formulated in painterly terms, as abstract color gestures, or as signs placed in the image space, Bischof’s beings frequently appear impeded, distorted or bent, as if they had arisen from an inflammatory nerve on impulse. In these paintings we find, not so much narrative continuity, as an illustration of isolated human conditions or mental states that Bischof outlines with her sceneries and figures, and for this reason they can indeed be grasped as allegories: states of impediment, inner unrest and strife, aggressiveness and incomprehension. In this sense, her pictures expand more into the depth, into their own image worlds, than as narrative strands to be read in relation to the other paintings placed in the gallery space. Even if they do not refer to each other a priori, they do react to each other, evoking in their interrelationship and overlapping of motifs chains of association that are not explicitly but latently inherent in the paintings. The figures seem to talk past each other, to fantasize, or brood over trivialities—for example, whether that is now a tower or a hairdo (Turm Frisur). But the fact that the works are not exhausted in interpretations of this kind testifies to aplomb, openness, complexity, and tolerance toward ambiguity evidenced not least by Bischof’s image worlds unfolding between such different moments as fantasy and reality.

Works by Kamilla Bischof (*1986, Graz) have been presented et.al. at Pantaleonsmuehlengasse, Cologne (2017), Forum Stadtpark, Graz (2017), Galerie der Stadt Schwaz, Tyrol (2016), Degraw Social Club, New York (2016), Salon Dahlmann, Berlin (2016), Bar du Bois, Vienna (2014), Ve.sch, Vienna (2014), Galerie Filmreif, Burghausen (2013), Werk im Werk, Vienna (2013), Galerie Mezzanin, Vienna (2012) und After the Butcher, Berlin (2010).

Programme

Performance by Lea von Wintzingerode
»This is my fabrication«
Friday, March 10, 8 pm

"Art and Cakes" Special
»Henriette's Feast« - Scenic reading by Myriam Khouri
Sunday, March 26, 2017, 4:00 pm

Inclusive painting workshop with Anneliese Maaß
Wednesday, 05. April 2017, 17.00 - 19.00
For children, adolescents and adults with and without impairments, prior knowledge is not required

"Members guide" with Sebastian Rohrbeck
Wednesday, April 12, 2017, 6:00 pm

"Children's Club" and "Children lead children" with Anna Prinz
Saturday, April 22, 2017, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
For children and adolescents from 6 to 12 years

The annual program is generously supported by the Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung, the Sparkassenstiftung Lüneburg and the Federal Chancellery Austria. The placement program is made possible by the state of Lower Saxony, the VGH Foundation and the Lüneburger Bürgerstiftung. The annual program of the Halle for Art Lüneburg is based on generous funding from the state of Lower Saxony, the Sparkassenstiftung Lüneburg, the Lüneburgische Landschaftsverband and the Hanseatic city of Lüneburg.