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Chrissy Angliker

Laura Bott

Li Gao

Conrad Jon Godly

Robert Käppeli

Robertson Käppeli

Constant Könz

Jani Leinonen

Daniel Mäder

Sara Masüger

Kazuyo Okushiba

Luis Schmidlin

Mazina Schmidlin-Könz

John Springs

19.12.2020 – 03.04.2021

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Stalletta - Winter 2020/21
Stalletta - Winter 2020/21
Stalletta - Chrissy Angliker
Stalletta - Winter 2020/21
Stalletta - Jani Leinonen
Chrissy Angliker

Chrissy Angliker  True Blue

Chrissy’s exploration of the shifting shades and emotional Tides of 2020.

It is fitting to release this body of work on the cusp of the New Year. Sifted through the turmoil of 2020 these paintings emerged as fragments in the unfolding story of a newly felt reality. This body of work is an intimate window into the artist’s oscillation between escapism and confrontation with the emotional landscape of 2020. Each painting is loaded with the emotional coping of the daily unraveling and free fall this year has ushered in.

The individual paintings can be read as select entries from Chrissy’s visual diary where the through-line is the color blue. True blue; as in the color, as well as the emotional indication that color invokes. The intensity, temperature and extent of use of the color blue fluctuates in tandem with the ebb and flow of the strong emotional tides of 2020.

Water subjects that reoccur in Chrissy’s work reemerged in 2020, which allowed an escape into a different world where the laws of gravity feel more accurate to those currently at play on earth. 

Alternating between processing the topical occurrences of the now and the imagined waters of other worlds helps alleviate the full burden of trying to make sense of it all. It allows deeply therapeutic respite, a self-soothing that which we all need right now. These breathers allowed Chrissy to access a wider range of shades within what she thought would capture an examination of the blues… ‘True Blue baby! ‘

In this body of work Chrissy’s paint vocabulary shifts widely depending on the need of each painting. Some of the works like “ Day Dreams” and “Stay on the Blanket” are created at a fast tempo using varied tools such as plastic spoons and brushes. The tools and the speed both limit the control she has over the paint, which helps her maintain the balance between control and chaos. Chrissy focuses on extending as wide as possible the gap between the paint marks and the subject she is trying to describe. Her desire is that the viewer should be able to see the paint separately—like the microscopic cells from which the illusion gets created. The bigger the gap, the more space for the viewer to interpret and project their own experience.

“Inner Light” is an example of what Chrissy calls her “Slow Paintings” which take several months to complete. The layering of paint over continually building texture repeats itself over and over until a new paint language forms. The painting’s mass is transparent to the labored process and Chrissy’s need of time to grow to be able to access the feeling or symbol being explored.

Daniel Mäder  Untitled

Lichen, a composite organism that results from the symbiosis between fungi and algae, are the predominant medium of Daniel Mäder’s recent series of works. 

Mäder’s ovular and rectangular shaped re-configurations of these plant like organisms are to be read as a continuation of his ongoing research of the interface between natural elements and artistic interventions. 

On one side the material choice comes natural to Daniel Mäder’s practice, which has always been about the elevation of biological matter which often goes unnoticed – be that ash, dried petals or in this case lichen. On the other side – perhaps more than ever before – it is crucial to understand how social relationships play a central role in the making of this new body of work: each pattern is composed of different lichen monocultures that the artist sourced on long walks with various friends across different singular, undisclosed places. Thereby each work contains different memories, merged together and sealed behind a delicate layer of epoxy resin. 

One of the most unique features of lichen is its capability to coexist with other organic matter. Daniel Mäder’s amorphous structures hence become a celebration not only of the beautiful formal qualities of lichen, but primarily a conceptual nod to the importance of a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship between him and his extended network of friends and family. The crusty, leaflike, branching formation of this often overlooked organic matter becomes a symbol for the patterns of social relationships.

 

Leopold Thun

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