Germany
* October 2, 1961 Freiburg
It is difficult to assign German artist Katharina Grosse to a particular style; in art theory, her works are usually referred to as “expanded painting.” She uses industrially manufactured, compressor-driven spray guns to apply extremely bright, often unmixed colors across large areas. For her, color is not merely a means of representation, but the central theme itself.
The starting point of her work is painting, which she radically extends beyond the canvas. Indoors, walls, floors, and ceilings form the painting surface; furniture, fabrics, and other objects complete the “picture.” Not enough, Grosse sprays exhibition halls, buildings, squares, rocks, or even entire landscapes, ultimately blurring the boundaries between painting, sculpture, and space.
Many of Katharina Grosse’s works, for example, in museums or in public spaces, are deliberately temporary; their destruction or overpainting is part of the overall concept. Her installations are often created specifically for a particular location and are frequently accessible. Thus, the artist turns color into a spatial, tangible experience.
