SETAREH X is pleased to present private the second solo exhibition by Astrid Styma. The characteristic signature style of Astrid Styma's painting, a representation of bodies that is in part digitally reminiscent, has defined her oeuvre since 2012 and has inspired in many aspects since then.
The works of the artist from Düsseldorf, painted on canvas and wood, depict close-ups of bodies whose gestures and palette convey mental states and moods. The mostly naked female bodies - whereby the artist in most of the cases draws on her own body - repeatedly assume a posture facing away from the viewer.
Facial features are not depicted or are only indicated, instead, the sensory organs are presented in a unique manner at this exhibition. When it comes to interpersonal encounters, it is primarily our senses that are in the focus. Depending on the situation and its atmosphere, people react very differently and employ certain senses to a greater or lesser extent. Two shaped wooden elements (shaped canvases) show an eye or ear, which seem to observe or eavesdrop on the viewer–almost in a manner reminiscent of Renaissance paintings.
In the work private, bluish discoloured arms bathed in cool light are wrapped tightly around bent legs to seemingly preserve a last bit of body heat; while in pulse, soft shadows and delicate reds suggest warmth and a visibly soft texture of human skin, which in turn appears stony in struggle, 2021, with fine cracks running through the depicted skin folds, reminiscent of the surface of ancient sculptures.
The painterly, highly skilled elaboration of these bodies in front of digital-looking, pastel-coloured gradients alternates in flowing transitions between sculptural three-dimensionality and silhouette-like shapes. Some of the bodies appear massive and heavy, others fragile and vulnerable. The painterly focus on the texture and details of the depicted bodies brings them almost „tangibly close" to the viewer and thus facilitates a sensual access to the depicted figures. Some works open up the perspective of the depicted subject and the possibility of putting oneself in the position of the depicted body - a subtle play with the subject-object relationship.
In this way, a simulation of bodily states that express different levels of privacy can potentially be experienced. Astrid Styma's body images reflect our current social interaction and expose areas of tension in interpersonal relationships, which are shaped above all by the internet, social media and the tendencies towards alienation from ourselves and our own perception of our bodies induced by them.
In her works, the artist holds up a mirror to a present time in which the private and the interpersonal–including the inherent vulnerability of the individual–are increasingly exposed to the digital public and presented as performative re-enactments of reality.
The catalogue accompanying the exhibition, with an essay by Dr Emmanuel Mir, provides a comprehensive overview of Astrid Styma's artistic work over the past ten years. The publication sheds light on her interpretation of corporeality and visual aesthetics, which has reflected digital aspects from the very beginning containing a correspondence to the stylisation and reduction of bodies and objects by artists such as Konrad Klapheck and Domenico Gnoli.
Press release courtesy SETAREH X.
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