/ 2024
PARADISE LOST
A duo show with Anat Homm and Nadine Lohof, curated by Leo Rösler, Marlene Sichelschmidt and Tim Rosenbaum at COUNCIL+ in Berlin.
In the opening verses of his epic of the same name, the English poet John Milton calls upon the muse to aid him in depicting the grand themes of the fall from heaven, original sin, and their far-reaching consequences.
Sing, Heavenly Muse, that, on the secret top...
This centuries-old poem serves in the context of the exhibition as an intellectual framework, gradually uncovering the significance of flesh and corporeality in the works of artists Anat Homm and Nadine Lohof.
The act of getting under the skin in Anat Homm's art includes both violent, erotic, and tender moments. Haut auf Haut presents a series of works where layers of skin rest upon each other. While the upper layers peel away, the underlying skin protects the flesh. A gentle encroachment rather than a direct intervention. In other works where the artist breaks through the epidermis, gaping wounds and exposed entrails spill forth like a bouquet of flowers. The transience and vulnerability of human flesh are primarily revealed through touch, although both themes are also explored visually. Through close study of paintings like Rubens' Fall of the Damned, the artist successfully transfers the dynamics of falling from canvas into sculpture. Through their twists and fractures, her wax sculptures lay bare the sinful and the frivolous, the grotesque and the sublime - in short, the ambivalence of human corporeality.
Whether in large formats or smaller ones, Nadine Lohof's protagonists fill the canvases with their bodies. Yet, the viewer's gaze often drifts from their sharp faces and distinctive clothing to the narrative details that guide the direction. A slug on the ground, an onion in hand, or a flute suggestively placed on white bed linens - the flesh of the bodies becomes more pronounced in relation to these small objects.
While the skin otherwise remains a noble pale, here the fingers blush, and blood flows through the thighs. For a brief moment, the earthly nature of humanity breaks through the otherwise fairytale-like scenes.
Born in Northern Hesse, the artist blends and molds stories of rural life with the fantastic, mixing opulence with the grounded. Scenes teetering between modesty and gluttony captivate and haunt in equal measure.
Scantily clad in autumn weather and cold landscapes, Lohof's figures are untethered from any specific time. Their corporeality and lust for flesh are evident in the rounded forms with which they occupy the space.