Alan Cristea Gallery, London, is showcasing new works exploring the themes of transience and immateriality by German artist Christiane Baumgartner.Baumgartner, who combines contemporary technology in the form of digital video and photography alongside time-honored woodcutting techniques, unveils monumental prints depicting ever-changing natural phenomena including the effect of sunlight, moonlight and electric light on landscape scenes.In addition to film stills and photography, the images depicted in Baumgartner’s new works have also been sourced from magazines and the Internet. Once Baumgartner has selected an image that she wants to use, she modifies it on a computer using line grids and then transfers it onto a wooden support (often plywood), carving the image by hand. Baumgartner can work on some woodblocks for up to several months before printing an edition in her studio in the famous Leipzig Cotton Mill in East Germany.“The Wave,” 2017, (pictured) measuring 149.3 x 210.4 cm, reminiscent of Hokusai’s iconic 19th century woodcut, shows a colossal cresting wave, depicted an instant before crashing downwards. Baumgartner also captures rippling light reflected on water in “Liquid Light I and II,” 2017, and “Golden Beach,” 2018. For a second monumental woodcut, “Phoenix,” 2018, measuring 150.0 x 213.0 cm, Baumgartner experiments with color to depict a large plume of smoke rising out of a volcano. Much of Baumgartner’s work takes the form of diptychs or series of images depicting the same scene, captured moments apart. Baumgartner also uses reversed images. “Weisse Sonne” and “Schwarze Sonne,” 2016, both based on her own photographs, depict two versions of the sun; what you see when you look directly at sunlight and the image that this imprints on viewers’ retina. The exhibition is on view through April 21, 2018, at Alan Cristea Gallery, 43 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5JG, UK.For details, visit: http://www.blouinartinfo.com/galleryguide/alan-cristea-gallery/overviewClick on the slideshow for a sneak peek at the exhibition.
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