KÜNSTLERHAUS

BETHANIEN

Exhibition

Ane Graff

Sliding

Ane Graff is a passionate draftswoman. She practises drawing as an extremely time-consuming, almost meditative process that centres on her contemplation of the poetry of scientific research and the nature of matter per se.

Ane Graff’s fine drawings with meticulously realised details use graphite pencil to reveal the surfaces and structures of organic matter – birds’ feathers, divots of turf, a tree’s branches and twigs – or the coral-like ramifications of natural silver and different types of stones. The artist’s interest has been attracted by multiform layers of broken slate in particular. In her drawings, Graff likes to develop the similarity of structures from completely different fields of nature.

Older works by Graff echo still-life paintings by 17th century Dutch artists, in which the forest floor is depicted as the habitat of evil forces – often embodied by reptiles or insects –, combined with symbols of Christian redemption.
In her more recent works, Graff has advanced from capturing stones and other natural forms on paper, and also collects them outside and presents them in the form of sculptural ensembles.

Thus, for example, she has laid out a huge number of fine and even finer slate fragments to create a large-format floor work – a futher development of the graphic idea that recalls, in this form, artworks of Land Art and yet, if one were to observe the installation from high above, it would re-adopt the aspect of a drawing.

Exhibition
14.08. – 30.08.2009
Tue - Sun: 2 - 7pm
Admission free

Opening
13.08.2009
7 - 10 pm

Ane Graff holds a fellowship from the Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA) in the context of our International Studio Programme.

Studio 2, Bethanien