artist statement
My painting style is characterised by powerful lines and gestural directness. By playing with the physical nature of the oil paint, be it through layering and ablation, or the juxtaposition of glazed and impasto surfaces, I test the range of the material.
At the centre of my work are painterly snapshots of interpersonal encounters that bring an emotion or atmosphere to life. Inspired by memories, longings, everyday observations and fashion, I often create group portraits and portraits. Themes of vulnerability, connection, alienation, queer sexuality, and identity pervade my work
I am interested in moments of ambiguity – when boundaries become blurred and room for interpretation opens, for example in the depiction of bodies and gender. This can also happen on a formal level, when different haptics, such as thick, rough surfaces and light, translucent layers of colour, are contrasted. I find it intriguing how supposed opposites clash, how forms dissolve and at other points condense into a whole.
tingling fingers (solo)
ASPN Galerie, Leipzig, June - July 2024
Franziska Koch’s works are gestural, direct and immediately evoke emotions.
Koch applies the oil paint to the canvas with quick, energetic movements – layer by layer. She works wet on wet, with no time for a drying process or for overthinking situations. What is depicted must be transferred to the canvas immediately.
This approach makes the works vibrate, allows us to immerse ourselves in the relief of the impasto materiality, follow the brushstroke, take a brief breather on the glazed surfaces and then return to the vibrant colours. Finally, we take another step back to grasp what is depicted: what we see are painterly snapshots of intimate encounters or social interactions.
The ambivalence between pastosity and glaze not only sets pictorial accents on the canvas that stimulate the narrative but also blurs the binary gender boundaries. The focus is on the (purely) interpersonal moment, which deals with themes of closeness, connection, alienation, queer identities and sexuality.
Franziska Koch supposedly gives us an insight into the emotional world of other characters. However, what really happens between the characters is open and left to our own interpretation.
[German text: Laura Gerstmann, 2024]
