Artist in conversation: Vanessa Wenwieser
Vanessa Wenwieser’s work places the female into the centre of her imagination, she liberates them from the typical male gaze and brings her female perspective to the forefront. In her artworks, women are seen as beings with minds, emotions and intuitively powerful. Using the figure and allusive storytelling elements Wenwieser examines the gap between appearance and being. Feelings are exhibited naked and vulnerable, she explores them in an imaginative and beautiful way, trying to make people see the transcendent. Her aim is to pull the viewer inside her pictures to make them inhabit her otherworldly depictions.
1. How would you introduce yourself to someone who doesn’t know you?
I am an artist from Munich, Germany, who grew up very much in the German alpine tradition of dark storytelling; my mind was inhabited by vampires, ghosts and witches, Krampus, Perchten and evil spirits. They scared me, as well as drew me in. They were, quite often, not purely evil, and they taught me a lot about human nature and not to trust what one sees on first encounter; to always look deeper.
Therefore, it is no surprise that years later I am still fascinated by dark stories and legends and that they in turn inhabit my artistic imaginary world, they encouraged me to seek the beauty within darkness, the light amongst the shade, the hope in a very sombre world. It is where one expects it the least, where it shines the brightest.
I am also a fervent fighter against injustices and apart from curating art projects for political and sociopolitical causes with my artist friend Tatiana, I try to change the way women are seen in art.
I seek to make them valued as intelligent, sensitive and strong and to show a strong link to nature. I seek to inhabit them, through my own thoughts, ideas and feelings with many different emotions that often are very powerful and overwhelming. I want to get away from the male gaze that has dominated most of the history of art: the two dimensional way of seeing women, usually as a sexual object or otherwise a Madonna. I want to repave people’s imagination with new images and definitions of what it’s like to be female, that there are many different shades and varieties of womanhood out there. That can be done by placing them in historical myths, even religious ones and even at times taking place in the form that only men have been represented, the way Christ, for example, hung on the cross, without using that context necessarily; basically re-hanging the hallways of art history with women, seen in a different way. Hopefully, this will also make a slight contribution for society seeing women as different and more valuable.
2. What art do you most identify with?
Romanticism, the intense emotions and atmosphere found within it. I adore starkly contrasting light, where it’s mostly dark but with some light on the figure like in Rembrandt's work. Botticelli, with his wonderfully painted women and flowery worlds, Jugendstil influenced me greatly growing up with the women and flowers and curving forms, and that is probably one of the reasons I’m drawn to female figures, apart from wanting to empower them, and flowers. I love the ideas and strange juxtaposition of Surrealism and I also love German expressionism; the strange angles, the frantic and passionate and dark vision and even the colour of green for portraits is used a lot by Kirchner.
3.Can you describe one artwork or series from your oeuvre that you feel was pivotal in your career?
Maybe “Fear is like a forest”, it was really such a well received, powerful piece, it was full of flowers yet dark, and the woman looked so proud and strong, it received some prizes and was the beginning of my green and red phase, something I had taught myself and which mirrored my soul.
It was dark yet fiery, mystical yet full of flowers, passionate yet full of questions. It embraced my love of nature and at the same time showed females portrayed through my vision, as proud beings, at one with nature, willing to be at one with nature and not to destroy. So, yes, that played a very pivotal role in my art after that.
4. The pieces you exhibited in the “INTERSECTIONS” exhibition show at The Holy Art Gallery in Athens were quite powerful and inspiring, placing the female in the centre. Is there a story you would like to share about these works?
Thank you so much, I’m glad you felt that. Yes they all place the female at the very centre of the artwork as beings that are powerful and in command of their destiny, yet very sensual and in tune with their feelings, emotions and with nature. Nature seems to inhabit them and flow through them in a mysterious way. The red and green complimentary colours are alluring and speaks of passion and fire. Whereas, the green alludes to nature and our role within it. In “I loved you with all my heart’ I tried showing the all consuming way love can leave one behind and “We are the witches of our time” was done for one of my group projects that was called “We are the granddaughters of witches you couldn’t burn”, which came from an angry, frustrated point of view at how slowly emancipation was happening and at the same time a determination to continue fighting, we have survived so much, we are stronger than ever and nothing will stop us. Nothing at all.
5. Can you talk about the process of creating your work?
Yes absolutely, I suppose in a way I am constantly creating art by just looking at the world, reading, watching films and listening to music and poetry, I am constantly influenced by them and then I often either reach an epiphany when I least expect it or I have visions, sometimes I get very strong visions in that phase between sleeping and being awake, I get so many visions and ideas I write and draw them down, I always have a pencil and paper next to my bed in order not to forget. Then, the next stage is to photograph the idea and I use other photographs to amalgamate in Photoshop and draw on them and use texture to reveal a more painterly aesthetic that I love.
6. What inspires you and what do you hope that the public takes away from your art?
Many things inspire me, at the moment I am very much inspired by the women of Iran who are doing so well in fighting for their freedom. If they can do that in the face of adversity it gives many others hope to fight on too. Otherwise, I get inspired by the beauty of nature, of humanity, of poems, art, films, books; anything that describes the human experience in a sublime way. I hope the public is able to take away from seeing my artworks, a sense of wonder of illumination and maybe having seen things from a different angle than they have before. I hope it makes them think but I also wish it can give people a sense of hope, that nothing is impossible and it’s definitely worth carrying on.
7. What advice would you give to emerging artists entering the art world?
To always keep an interested mind, always learn new things, keep growing, learn by doing, don’t bore yourself with learning everything in one go. Just think about what you would like to create and what you need for that first step and then learn that, it will come naturally. Try learning for example Photoshop like I did , by myself as you learn to do things maybe no-one else has tried. To develop new methods and mix media, it’s incredible what you learn.
8.What is your dream project?
My dream project would be a commission for a book or an album, cover, something very dear to me and to have complete artistic control. Otherwise, an art book of my own one day, maybe a collaboration with another artist or a poet. I would love to do an exhibition with lighting and music a mixed media event.
9. Are there any projects you are currently working on and you would like to speak about?
I am working on an ongoing project about darkness in flowers, just something one normally doesn’t associate with them, but I enjoy the juxtaposition of opposing forces, or seemingly so. There are many beautiful flowers that are deadly poisonous.
An ongoing project is to use dark lyrics in songs and make a darkly humorous persiflage.
10. Finally, how would you describe your experience working with us and exhibiting in our physical, yet completely digital gallery, in Athens?
I am really impressed by the digital screens, which are huge and one doesn’t need to frame and ship the work to the exhibition. It makes it a lot cheaper for international artists to take part.
My experience working with you for this exhibition was incredible, the people that work at your gallery were always friendly, you gave me so much invaluable advice beforehand, always answered question promptly and for the opening I was amazed, my work was shown on screens upstairs but what really mesmerised me was the red lights you used to illuminate the space, it enhanced my images so much, that already have some red in them but you left dark space around them and then this red warm glow. It was electrifying!! Like the darkness versus the light inside of a church, truly sublime. Well done, I had never seen anything like it!
