The paintings--and painting-assemblages--of German artist Myriam Holme (born 1971) turn on contradiction; for all their austere elegance, they also exude a quiet violence in their materials. Often beginning by staining a surface (paper, aluminum) with color, Holme has--in recent works--bent, twisted and fractured that ground, resulting in beautifully damaged compositions.
Featured image is Meerischen Draussen und Drinnen (Oceanic Outside and Inside, 2006), reproduced from Myriam Holme.
"Myriam Holme’s artistic work is characterized by wonderfully poetic pictorial compositions that vacillate between dense and glittering surfaces, shining and matt structures, delicate and massive elements. After having familiarized ourselves with one element and associating a known object or an experience with it, the familiarity we seem to have felt is dispersed the very next moment, giving way to absolute uncertainty in the face of the material. Acrylic meets stain, loosely applied paint meets bamboo poles, crystalline stones meet dull platforms. The active viewing of Myriam Holme’s works conveys the inherent optics of the materials. Their actual qualities recede to the background in favor of an aesthetic that forms worlds of its own correspondence with the titles, worlds that allow one to experience calm and beauty, as well as diversity, amidst a time that passes in uncertain directions and a space that takes shape in the same manner. However, within the frame of contemplative viewing, they do not serve disinterested pleasure but instead make us pensive."
FORMAT: Hbk, 9 x 12 in. / 88 pgs / 70 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $37.50 LIST PRICE: CANADA $50 ISBN: 9783866784376 PUBLISHER: Kerber AVAILABLE: 2/28/2011 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA LA ME
Published by Kerber. Text by Meike Behm, Christian Werth.
The paintings--and painting-assemblages--of German artist Myriam Holme (born 1971) turn on contradiction; for all their austere elegance, they also exude a quiet violence in their materials. Often beginning by staining a surface (paper, aluminum) with color, Holme has--in recent works--bent, twisted and fractured that ground, resulting in beautifully damaged compositions.
