Stack 2020Silke Otto-Knapp (b. Germany 1970)
Otto-Knapp’s distinctive pictorial language conveys a sense of scale and movement in her luminous greyscale depictions of bodies in flux and repose. Here, silhouettes stretch, tumble and crawl, their tightly knit bodies recalling the all-women ensembles of avant-garde choreographers Martha Graham and Yvonne Rainer. The figures’ synchronized postures suggest a warmup for a dance performance or exercise. Contrasting visual effects – surface and depth, figure and ground, darkness and light – allow the two dimensional painting to function as a stage for kinetic activation.
Stack 2020Silke Otto-Knapp (b. Germany 1970)
Otto-Knapp’s distinctive pictorial language conveys a sense of scale and movement in her luminous greyscale depictions of bodies in flux and repose. Here, silhouettes stretch, tumble and crawl, their tightly knit bodies recalling the all-women ensembles of avant-garde choreographers Martha Graham and Yvonne Rainer. The figures’ synchronized postures suggest a warmup for a dance performance or exercise. Contrasting visual effects – surface and depth, figure and ground, darkness and light – allow the two dimensional painting to function as a stage for kinetic activation.