04 november 2022, Flor Linckens
Diana Scherer's Living Works of Art
Until 8 January 2023, ROOF-A is presenting an exhibition with work by the German artist Diana Scherer. Her practice functions as an artistic and poetic inquiry into the human urge to control its natural environment. After all, we live in the Anthropocene: the era in which not nature, but man poses a dangerous geological force and endangers all other life forms. In that context, Scherer examines the remaining meanings of a term like “natural”.
The artist is known for the ways in which she manipulates the intelligent root networks of plants, that she then uses for sculptures, installations, textiles and photography. Her studio is therefore exactly the green oasis you have in mind and her main materials consist of nothing more than soil, seed and light. She thus tries to exercise control over natural processes, which at the same time are marked by great unpredictability. The patterns in Scherer's living textiles reflect the contrast between the natural and the human touch; from the perfect geometric structures of cells and snowflakes to human patterns like bubble wrap.
Diana Scherer, Harvest, 2022, ROOF-A
It requires a careful research process, as Scherer analyses the roots at a microscopic level and has tried hundreds of plant species before arriving at her favourites: grass, oats, wheat and maize — in part because of their strong roots. The artist also experiments with different techniques and looks at the roots with the same eyes with which a weaver looks at traditional textile fibres: she has even compared the roots to silk. The artist's multidisciplinary practice is marked by elements from science, nature, art and design. For example, she is inspired by the traditional weaving techniques of populations with a strong connection to nature. For her work, Scherer also frequently collaborates with biologists and engineers from TU Delft and Radboud University.
Earlier this year, she presented three dresses that she had grown underground in the art exhibition Paradys, curated by acclaimed Dutch writer and curator Hans Den Hartog Jager.
Diana Scherer, Entanglements, 2022, ROOF-A
Scherer initially started studying fashion design in London but decided to pursue a degree at the prestigious Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam instead. The artist has won several awards and Scherer's work has been shown in the Frankfurter Kunstverein, the Textielmuseum, Foam Amsterdam, the MIT Museum in Boston, the Himalayas Museum Shanghai, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Stedelijk Museum and during the Sydney Biennale. In the autumn of 2023 her work will be presented in a large-scale solo exhibition in Museum Kranenburgh.
Tip: on Saturday 5 November at 3:00 PM, the gallery will organise an Artist Talk with Diana Scherer, in which the artist will tell you more about her work and practice.
Diana Scherer | Wonderground, ROOF-A
