Press release -
Colourfully immersive – Kerstin Brätsch at MUNCH
Experience a total installation as Kerstin Brätsch takes over the 9th floor at MUNCH, from 14 March – 3 August. With the exhibition MƎTAATEM, she explores painting as a medium, playing between the physical and the spiritual. Brätsch invites visitors to enter her enigmatic, sensual and groundbreaking artistic universe, with works shown in Norway for the first time.
The title MƎTAATEMsets the tone for the exhibition. The word ‘meta’ in this context can be understood as a reflection on painting, while the German word ‘Atem’ can be translated as ‘breath’ and can thus be interpreted in the light of ideas about painting’s connection to the physical and spiritual.
The German artist challenges conventions, inviting visitors to reconsider what a painting is, and what it can be. Her exhibition gives visitors a chance to experience painting as a living medium that is subject to change.
Brätsch’s art challenges the viewer’s perception and plays with our natural urge to find meaning in the things we see. A motif that initially appears abstract can suddenly reveal a hidden face, the silhouette of a wing or a landscape. At other times, it seems as if the brushstrokes themselves are vibrating with life – the painting pulsing like a living organism. The enigmatic exhibition promises an extraordinary experience.
– This is an exhibition that pulsates with the viewer and surprises you every time you see it, says MUNCH director Tone Hansen.
– Kerstin Brätsch’s work offers new perspectives on conventional notions of painting, expressiveness and authenticity, says Hansen. She adds: Her artistic practice challenges space, form, and content – and, in doing so, also redefines what a museum can be.
Art in motion
Kerstin Brätsch questions the role of painting in a digital age. Her artistic practice is firmly grounded in painting, but it appears to be in constant flux. Brätsch allows painting to assume new forms via media such as drawing, photography, video and sculpture. In addition, she brings different techniques and craft traditions into her work through a series of collaborations with craftspeople and other artists.
Brätsch’s expressive form makes reference to art-historical notions of what a painting is. She is particularly interested in spiritualistic ideas, in which painting becomes a medium for mental states and invisible currents of energy.
Translucent layers of colour and swirling brushstrokes suggest cosmic forces or inner visions, where form and meaning are in constant motion. This dialogue with art history gives her work depth and complexity, and invites you to reflect on what you see and how you look at a painting.
Extra event – Artist talk
On 15 March, MUNCH invites you to the artist talk Kerstin Brätsch – What is a painting? The artist will engage in a conversation with art historian Kerstin Stakemeier and curator Lars Toft-Eriksen about who – or what – shapes a work.
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About the artist
Kerstin Brätsch (b. Hamburg, Germany) is a leading voice in the international contemporary art world. She has exhibited at prestigious institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Whitney Biennial, the Venice Biennale and the Serpentine Gallery in London. Brätsch works both solo and in collaboration with other artists such as Adele Röder and Serge Tcherepnin. She is a graduate of Columbia University in New York and Universität der Künste in Berlin, and lives and works in Berlin.
In 2017, Brätsch received the Edvard Munch Art Award. The jury praised her ability to actualise painting as a medium in a digital age and highlighted the strong potential for the further development of her artistic career.
