Old patterns are difficult to break, they say. But what happens when breaking with them is not the aim, but rather a questioning of what patterns are made of, what they are for and the study of their nature as a step into the future?
In Bobbin Tales From Landscape Blues, Katja Davar's first solo exhibition at Bernhard Knaus Fine Art, the artist shows new large-scale drawings and wall paintings. Playing with immersive spaces, Katja Davar creates worlds that merge social processes, scientific findings, and art historical references. The works of the British-German artist seem like a mirrored form of our reality, they pick up on the familiar and in turn detach themselves from it at unexpected moments.
The reference points for this exhibition can be found primarily in the 16th and in the 17th century. In this new series of works, Katja Davar deals with the formal language as well as the colours of Flemish landscape painting during this period. Another connection to the Renaissance is formed by the patterns in graphite running across the walls of the exhibition space linking it to one of the oldest European lace pattern books, Le Pompe, which was first published in Venice in 1559.
Katja Davar (b. 1968 in London) explores the relationship between humans, nature and new technologies in videos, drawings and animations. Her multifaceted motifs address both utopian and dystopian aspects of ancient and modern life.
Since studying in London, Düsseldorf and Cologne, Katja Davar's works have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions and are part of international art collections such as the Contemporary Art Collection of the Federal Republic of Germany or the collection of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt am Main. The artist has taught experimental drawing since 2012 at the University of Applied Sciences Mainz.
Press release courtesy Bernhard Knaus Fine Art.
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