For her solo exhibition at the gallery Eigen + Art in Berlin, Swiss artist Annelies Štrba extracts 111 Madonnas from their initially religious context, presents them as tiny pigment prints on canvas, and arranges them like mosaics side by side on the wall.
“Thereby the holly Madonna is no more the sacrificed mother giving birth to Jesus, but a transformation of her. Annelies Å trba took away her uniqueness, placed the prints like mosaics side by side and gave them a new aura. Facing the viewer as a mighty unity, he believes to be close to them. Nevertheless, he realises the impossibility of a true physical nearness to the pretty faces almost painfully by the reason that the conditional intensity of colour and light is destructed.” (excerpt from the press release). In addition to the 111 Madonnas, Annelies Štrba presents large-scale formats, parts from the cycle “Nyima”.
Annelies Štrba: icons / Galerie Eigen + Art Berlin. Opening reception, January 21, 2010.
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