The works of Leipzig based painter Henriette Grahnert (*1977) elude a definite, stylistic classification. Her oeuvre could be described as a humorous and subtle reflection on painting and as an ironic observation on art and the art market in the tradition of Martin Kippenberger or Albert Oehlen.
Grahnert’s ambiguous play with materials causes the viewer to be repeatedly lulled into a false sense of security. Her works, the content of which alternates between transparency and opacity, minimalism, figuration and abstraction, constantly provoke the question of whether the materials applied are pasted, modeled, or actually painted. The application of color is simultaneously precise and gesturally rough – clearly defined perimeters impinge on sprayed or randomly flung colors, thinly glazed elements meet rich impastos applied with a palette knife. The artist works with brushes, squeegees, and spray paint cans. Her work may consist of pure painting, but she is equally likely to integrate into her canvases, everyday objects such as light bulbs, buttons, exercise balls. Grahnert’s pleasure in the integration of various materials to surfaces is also evident in her collages, which are on exhibit in the gallery’s downstairs space.
Language is an essential element of Henriette Grahnert’s work and is not only exemplified in her witty titles, but also by the application of typeface to the images, which delightfully, serve to satirize not only life in general, but in particular the art scene where in the work »Mostly Middle«, in a form resembling an organigram, she mercilessly illustrates the success of artists.
With the exhibition entitled »Hide Park Theatre« Henriette Grahnert traces a path into the world of theater characterized by ostentation, drama, and expansive gestures. Painting is presented as if on a stage: an interplay between allusion and obscurity, presentation and concealment. The works open curtain provides alluring clues and the inspiration of expectations, yet at the same time remains flirtatiously vague.