KARIN LAMBRECHT

Karin Lambrecht’s recent production reveals significant changes in her practice following her move from Porto Alegre, Brazil, to Broadstairs, on the island of Thanet, in the United Kingdom. Her current work is characterised by ample areas of colours covering the canvas, which evoke the particular sensations prompted by the local landscape and natural light cycles. Indeed, Lambrecht has turned to new forms of chromatic and formal compositions, leaving behind her characteristic use of earthy and dense blue hues, and turning to rather variegated and airy surfaces. The artist also noted that her use of red tones is now less related to the idea of the earth, as had been the case previously, and more related to the sky in Broadstairs, which she says takes on red qualities at the end of the day.

In addition to colour, the use of language is also an important aspect of the artist’s work, with words written on the canvas, either in Portuguese, English, or German, which often determine the title of the piece as well. Her choice of words tend to evoke landscapes, such as Lua Nova [New Moon], Cliff, Cloud and Céu [Sky], or metaphysical ideas, such as Ether, Cosmos and Pleasure [Prazer]. Thus, the title of the exhibition, Seasons of the Soul, references the ways in which the subjective and the natural world intertwine and collide in Lambrecht’s practice.

The exhibition will also present a series of works on paper, whereby the artist draws upon silk-like paper using thread, sewing shapes and words, which she complements with watercolour brushstrokes. According to the artist, her works on paper call for a more meditative process, offering a counterpoint to her paintings, which require a more expansive gestuality and a faster stroke.

Seasons of the Soul offers an opportunity to delve into the work of Karin Lambrecht, as she continues to demonstrate how her practice proposes a singular and poetic language, subliminally capturing how the spiritual and natural fields intertwine. In addition, author and curator David Anfam, who specialises in abstraction, and more specifically in North American Abstract Expressionism, proposes a text that amplifies the possibilities for critical understandings of the artist’s work.