Thursday, May 9, 2013

TAG Interview with Brigitte Schobert

Kaleidoscope is Brigitte Schobert's current show at TAG.
On Saturday, May 11, she will be at the gallery to talk about her work.
We asked her a few questions:

This is a very different body of work that you're showing.
Tell us how you came to this.
I did not have a show last year and in the previous show in Sept 2011 most of my work was already non-representational.
Untitled 161, 2012, oil on paper, 26 x 26"
Is this a new way of working or are you returning to media that you used in the past?
For the "oil on paper" I still use a printmaking procedure and apply the oil paint by means of an etching press. However, it is a process that I developed for myself and it is different from the traditional way of printmaking.
     
What is your process?
In my acrylic painting I apply a lot of unorthodox means as well, like sponges, sponge cloth, rags, sand and the like and sometimes combine printing and painting.

Untitled 172, 2012, acrylic on Canvas, 30 x 20"
How do you decide on your color palette?
I am trying not to get hung up on similar colors. For example after a picture with blue I want to make a painting where red or yellow prevails. It is only the direction in general and might be modified while the painting is developed.

How do you know when a work is finished?
A painting is finished when the the picture does not "speak" to me anymore. Even when I don't paint I put my picture in a position where I can see it, because I walk by many times from different directions. Often I know something is still missing, but not quite what it is. I wait until I know. Whenever a picture does not create the feeling it still needs something, it is considered finished and stowed away.

What is the biggest challenge that you face as an artist?
Every new picture is a challenge and a struggle, sometimes the way is more twisted than other times, but it is never straight. I do not work from a preconceived sketch or model, but develop the image step by step and make new decisions at every step. This way I never know how, where and when it ends and there are always surprises.

Brigitte's work can be seen at TAG until May 18.
Her artist talk is May 11.

No comments:

Post a Comment