ART-PRESENTATION: Rebekka Steiger-Wild Is The Wind
The body of work of young Swiss artist Rebekka Steiger is an exceptional discovery in the way that the artist both embodies the enthusiasm of someone who regards painting not as a job but as a state of mind, and faces it with the curiosity and openness of an artist with an unadulterated mind and eye, determined yet still able to go with the flow without being subjugated by conceptualism and overthinking.
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Galerie Urs Meile Archive
In Rebekka Steiger’s solo exhibition “Wild is the wind” are on presentation paintings and works on paper that were recently created in Lucerne and Beijing. When Rebekka Steiger was in residency in Beijing, from March to November 2018, she painted extensively as a means to cope with the unknown environment she was plunged into, while new motifs as well as a more spontaneous approach to painting found their way into her practice. The artist also started entitling her work as well as mixing languages as a way to create a kind of “poetic chemical reaction” and unexpected associations between words. From a compositional perspective, her work underwent a noticeable transformation, increasingly blurring the boundaries between background, middle ground and foreground. The result is a growing tension between abstract and figurative, as exemplified by the work “xibu” (2018) or in “Hanging in midair (above sea)” (2018). Rebekka Steiger plays here with the loss of meaning inherent to the translation process, which allows her to leave the interpretation open and up to the viewer, upon which no pre-existing narrative is imposed. The same goes for the recurring motifs that inhabit the work: Don Quixotesque riders, birds, erupting volcanoes, intriguing plants and insects, etc. Here again, the figures are not depicted to tell a story: this very personal “vocabulary of forms” allows for the mind to rest or freely wander in a universe composed of expressive and brightly colored brushstrokes. During the Chinese residency, some of these motifs underwent a metamorphosis, while new ones appeared in the work: a hint of a dragon or an owl. The motif of the owl was actually inspired while the artist visited the Beijing antique market, where she acquired a bronze owl statuette. These free associations and “chance encounters”, experienced both by the artist while making art and by her viewers while confronted with the work, are what make Rebekka Steiger’s paintings so appealing and intriguing.
Info: Galerie Urs Meile Lucerne, Rosenberghöhe 4, Lucerne, Duration: 14/2-30/3/19, Days & Hours: Tue-Sun 11:00-18:30, https://galerieursmeile.com
