Curator Dr. Eva Karcher has organized and curated the first collaborative exhibition at the BERGSON x PULPO GALLERY Pop-up with works by Munich based artist Julia von Kienlin. The first cooperation with different actors of the art scene of many to come.
The exhibition will be on view from September 15 – November 5, 2023 at the
BERGSON x PULPO GALLERY Pop-up, Marienplatz 8, 80331 Munich.
No genre of painting is as indestructible as the portrait. But portraits have never been as present as they are in today's ubiquity of social media, and even less so in their extreme form, the selfie. But what is the self in the era of selfies? Where do the permanent performers of the self, caught in the trap of permanent self-control and in the non-stop competition for manipulated flawless ego brand identity still find security and empathy?
The works of Munich-based artist Julia von Kienlin revolve around such questions. She finds her subjects - where else - on the self-portrayal stages of Instagram and Co; she prefers to select young, rather contemplative and sometimes introverted characters. She translates their more or less spontaneous i-phone photos into paintings and drawings. And in this transformation process she succeeds in a magnificent recapture of their respective unique aura. Behind the roles and poses, the masks and attitudes, behind the whole retort aesthetic, the vulnerable selves of personalities with fears, feelings and longings suddenly become visible. Kienlin also stages brightly colored, ornamental or scenic, associative backgrounds into which she beams the figures, so to speak, so that they seem to merge with them. In this way, she creates immersive spheres of intimacy and security for her protagonists. In the artist's words, "Painting portraits is a way for me to show my affection.
Text by Dr. Eva Karcher