ART-PRESENTATION: Rita Ackermann-The Aesthetic of Disappearance

Rita Ackermann has been known to reference Bertolt Brecht’s slogan, “Art is not a mirror, but a hammer.” Ever since she arrived at New York from Budapest in the early ‘90s, she has received almost instantaneous attention for her fluid, yet savage large-scale oil paintings of layered color blocks sometimes juxtaposed with the figures of almond-eyed young women.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Malmö Konsthall Archive

The exhibition “The Aesthetic of Disappearance”, her first solo exhibition at Malmö Konsthall examines the relationship between her bodies of work, inviting the viewer to experience the different layers in the work, the representation of the figure, the mysterious bold gestures all create the dichotomy between the beautiful and the violent. Her early works are the point of departure for Ackermann’s recent body of work titled “The Chalkboard Paintings”. The works in this series are a step further in Ackermann’s investigation into the deconstruction and disappearance of a pictorial language. Ackermann’s new compositions occupy a space between the figurative and the abstract, where human forms simultaneously disappear and re-emerge in traces of chalk dust. For the “Chalkboard Paintings”, Ackermann primes the canvas with traditional chalkboard paint before drawing out a figurative scene in chalk. The drawings are then partially washed away in vigorous sweeping gestures that oscillate between the visible and invisible, revealing only limited emphasis on method, subject and production. The repetitive steps of layering and erasure cause the chalk lines to dissolve in a cyclical process through which new abstracted images and shapes emerge. These are then further overworked with spray paint, prior to a final fixative seal.

Info: Curator: Per Haubro Jensen, Malmö Konsthall, S:t Johannesgatan 7, Malmö, Duration: 22/10/16-22/1/17, Days & Hours: Daily 11:00-17:00, www.konsthall.malmo.se