DOWNWARD FACING DOG

MARIA SCHUMACHER

Vernissage 
September 5, 2024, 6 pm

Exhibition duration 
September 6 – October 19, 2024

In her artistic work, Maria Schumacher works on the creation of narrative-psychological spaces in which she deals with the complexity of relationship structures and the fundamental questions of human existence. She is particularly interested in the sublime nature of existential states such as loneliness, fear, grief, love and hope and their universal nature. Her often monochrome works create a meditative space that demands a slowed-down aesthetic perception and encourages a confrontation with questions of meaning. The titles of the paintings extend this approach with ironic refractions that create a humorous distance.

In Schumacher's abstract paintings, spontaneous gestures and expressive lines serve as an expression of individual freedom and refer to Abstract Expressionism. They are free of symbolic charge and demonstrate a flawed but remarkable human nature. Archaic signs break through the grid-like division of her paintings and refer to a long cultural history and the individual leaving behind traces of existence.

Folkloristic references in her work have their origins in her Romanian background and her involvement with Balkan folk art. She is particularly interested in ornamental arrangements, the use of patterns and the ritualistic charging of signs and symbols, whereby the Romanian artist Constantin Brancusi is an important point of reference.
For Schumacher, the nature of the material is both resistance and potential and is given special attention in every phase of her work. The monotype process favors the use of chance, and uncontrolled traces serve her intended expression. Regardless of the technique used, her pictorial work always refers to the basic nature of the rectangular format and the resulting specific dynamics around a center.