The Centre Pompidou-Metz hosts a summer exhibition by artist Katharina Grosse (born in Germany in 1961, living and working in Berlin and New Zealand), who has been using the spray technique for over 30 years to create monumental immersive paintings. During a stay in Florence, Katharina Grosse was fascinated by how Renaissance frescoes integrate surrounding architecture as a pictorial element. Since then, Katharina Grosse's work has taken a three-dimensional turn. She begins to design her works in situ, fully considering the exhibition venue. The artist abandons the canvas in favor of the wall, on which she directly deploys her vibrant colors, extending into the corners and features of the exhibition spaces. To better embrace the architecture, contradict it, and create astonishing tensions, the artist turns back to canvas in her installations. Her stage settings are imbued with a verve that combines the unrestrained power of American expressionism with the subtle sensuality of the 'colorful spatial bodies' (Farbraumkörper) of painter Gotthard Graubner, who was her teacher at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. Katharina Grosse is invited to occupy the Grande Nef, a grand space rising over 20 meters, offering itself unimpeded, devoid of scenography. On this occasion, the artist aims to evolve a large-scale installation initially designed for the Carriageworks art center in Sydney. 8,250 m² of fabric suspended from the ceiling by huge knots will form a new space inside the gallery, taking the shape of a massive drape whose colors and exuberant energy extend beyond the Grande Nef, spilling into the outdoor plaza of the Centre Pompidou-Metz. The exhibition offers visitors the experience of literally passing through a screen of painting. Openings allow entry into this wavy-walled shelter, to enter its heart and immerse in color and movement. Streaks of vibrant colors, executed with vehement gestures, clash with misty halos, revealing here and there, in the folds of fabric, a pristine white. The effect of displacement of this powerful and astonishingly optimistic work is striking. It alternates between an intimate cabin and a theatrical set (the same Grande Nef hosted Parade, Picasso's stage curtain, in 2012), inviting visitors to attempt a performance. With her painting, Katharina Grosse seeks to condense emotions and provoke intense agitation: 'From this positive or negative experience, my intention is that we develop the desire to initiate change.'
Good to know
Curator: Chiara Parisi. Location: Centre Pompidou-Metz.
Automatically translated from French.
Where does it take place?
Luxembourg Art Week
Glacis square (Fouerplaatz)
Ville-Haute Luxembourg
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