16 june 2023, Flor Linckens
Five artists, one medium: the immediacy of work on paper
Until 24 June, Schönfeld Gallery in Brussels offers an exhibition that focuses on a specific medium: work on paper. Five female artists are showing work: Marta Barrenechea, Tina Berning, Terry Ekasala, Rikako Kawauchi and Jenny Watson.
Works on paper have always held a special place in the world of visual art. There is something exceptionally personal and direct in the relationship between the artist and the paper. Every line and shape created by the artist is transferred to the paper in a direct way, creating a tangible connection between the artist's intention and the execution. The medium is also marked by versatility: from seemingly simple sketches and complicated drawings to watercolours, gouaches or collages. The result can be subtle or subdued, lively or outspoken. Each technique and style has its own unique qualities. In addition, the fragility of paper contributes to its exceptional appeal — it is a medium that should be treated with some care and respect. It is precisely this mix of personal connection, versatility and fragility that renders works on paper so remarkable.
Rikako Kawauchi, When I’m watching TV, 2022, Schönfeld Gallery
In the exhibition at Schönfeld Gallery, the Japanese artist Rikako Kawauchi shows a series of pencil drawings to which she added watercolours. These works radiate a certain tension; we see severed heads that stand out because of their purple, red and orange colour and their strained faces. The artist is interested in the uncomfortable and occasionally strange relationship we have with our bodies, for example in the context of food. For her works on paper, she works in an intuitively way. Kawauchi: “I try to draw reflexively, so that my consciousness doesn’t catch up with my hand.”
The autobiographical watercolours of the Australian artist Jenny Watsons are reminiscent of the diary fragments from our youth, but if you take a closer look at the works, the texts turn out to be about medieval knights, farmers and art, among other things. Nevertheless, the works mainly deal with contemporary subjects, including what it is like to be a woman in our current time and the roles and expectations that are associated with it.
Martha Barrenchea, a Spanish artist, adds an exciting element to her work on paper: she adds embroidery. She works fast and instinctive and is inspired by what she hears and sees. Barrenchea: “From the moment we are born, we continuously see, hear, feel and think things. They all influence us. It really isn't just art that inspires us. It’s everything.”
Jenny Watson, Towel, 1995, Schönfeld Gallery
Tina Berning lives and works in Berlin and regularly uses found paper for her work on paper. In concrete terms, this means that you can recognise cash sheets in her works or that a paragraph that carefully shimmers through the paper. The human body plays a central role in her work and Berning is particularly fascinated by emotion and expression, as well as societal rules, notions of beauty and the contrast between voyeurism and exhibitionism.
Anyone who looks at Terry Ekasala's work will not be surprised that she is interested in ancient civilizations. But the artist from the United States is inspired by a multitude of subjects and often only finds out afterwards where the concrete inspiration came from. Intuition also plays a guiding role in Ekasala's work, which she performs in quick strokes.
