Caro Niederer

As the title of the work suggests, the new lithograph by Caro Niederer represents the opening of an art exhibition. Contrary to expectations, there are neither artworks nor festively dressed visitors with filled wine glasses, but merely a small group of people gathered in a courtyard. Their long, thick jackets evoke the cold season and contrast with the warm orange tones of the surrounding architecture. While the majority of the group hardly seems to notice us, one figure seems as if he has become aware of our presence. The gaze turned towards us builds a bridge between the space in the image and the space in which we find ourselves. This apparent eye contact involves us in the action and inverts the assigned roles: who is watching whom? Who is at the center of the representation? Do we still belong to the audience or have we ourselves become protagonists of this vernissage scene?

The large-format lithograph is based on a photograph that Caro Niederer took in private. The use of photographs as a basis for her painterly works is a recurring procedure in Niederer's practice and contributes to the interweaving of the spaces within and outside the picture. The medium of photography affects the perspective and framing of the image as well as the choice of subject: often Niederer's paintings seem like spontaneous snapshots of banal objects, everyday situations, or vacation getaways. When transferring her photographs onto canvas, the artist emphasizes the specific visual language and stylistic means of painting. This is also the case in the current lithograph with its expressive colors, forms that are only hinted at, and clearly recognizable brushstrokes. The actual moment in the courtyard, perceived through her personal gaze, Caro Niederer has transformed here into a dreamlike vision.

Caro Niederer uses various media and materials such as painting, photography, video, textile art, sculpture and printmaking, whereby the transfer from one medium to another plays an important role. Her last major museum exhibition was held at the Kunstmuseum St.Gallen (2017-2018). Her works are kept at the Kunstmuseum St.Gallen, the Graphische Sammlung of the ETH Zurich and the Centro de Arte Contemporáneo in Malaga, among others.