Anna Fasshauer ‘sollte, sollte, könnte, müsste’ at Galerie Nagel Draxler
Last week a major solo exhibition of German artist Anna Fasshauer opened at Galerie Nagel Draxler, Cologne.
Fasshauer is a Köln-born, Berlin-based artist who operates outside the lines, exhibiting internationally since 2002 she is best known for turning burnt cars and carpets into refined sculptures. It is therefore not surprising that in ‘Sollte,sollte, sollte, könnte, müsste’ she has managed to work with metal as if it were putty.
For her new series of ‘essayistic sculptures’ Fasshauer has manipulated stainless steel sheets and dry wall construction profiles into such elegant shapes that they appear to have been as easily bent as if drinking straws. Behind Fasshauer’s work however, lies an intense physical process; she works alone and with her ‘bare hands.’ Following a ‘stream of consciousness’ Fasshauer forces the metal into intuitively precise forms.
The floor sculptures and wall works are spread across all three levels of the gallery and whilst their strong colours and sharp contours create a determined presence they possess a certain delicacy that prevents them from being imposing. Fasshauer’s sculptures draw the eye towards possible outlines, their brutish presence giving way to potential new form. It is this suggestiveness that makes the work so powerful, the bright colours rather than overwhelming, serve to highlight the subtler aspects of these large abstract forms.
‘Sollte,sollte, sollte, könnte, müsste’ confronts the viewer with a sense of untamed elegance, the nature of which allows the works featured to possess endless interpretations. It is Fasshauer’s ability to create infinite lines from unyielding materials that makes this exhibition so unique.
‘Sollte,sollte, sollte, könnte, müsste’ is on view at Galerie Nagel Draxler until April 04.
Photographs Courtesy of Galerie Nagel Draxler
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