GILLES CLEMENT GALLERY

MARIANNE HASENOEHRL

 

In the works of Marianne Hasenöhrl-Obsieger one can find elements of large scale painting as well as object art, spatial installation and performance art.

Since 1995 she has been working hard on finding a solution to expanding painting into three-dimensional space. She attempted to create this expansion at first with collages which she then developed into object collages in the course of time.

The painted background unites and aligns itself seamlessly with the inserted objects. Marianne Hasenöhrl-Obsieger tells visual stories, sometimes in serial sequence. As materials for her works she uses puppets and other small objects which have personal historic value to her and expand art by incorporating the artist herself. The “found objects” she uses come from constant forays into the world of flea markets and scrap metal yards. Like ready-mades, these objects they are integrated into her collages.

As regards content, Marianne Hasenöhrl-Obsieger uses these objects in such a way that she can tell stories with them which fit the project. These are mostly personal stories, frequently referring to her childhood and youth. In this, popular everyday objects of the past world play central parts: in her youth the “American Way of Live” was discovered and imported while the Western World embraced consumerism.

In the style of Kurt Schwitters the found objects of everyday life she uses depict a sculptural development of her collages, while there is always a personal connection that ensures the stereotyped box of “objets trouvés” is forced open and trash or junk she found is then turned into beloved finds and discoveries that have memory value.

In her new paintings, Marianne Hasenöhrl-Obsieger tries to unite a monochrome mood with an interpretation of the reality of structural painting by employing large scale formats. In doing this she is not afraid of colours. These become bearers of her spiritual condition and a window into her inner landscape.