“For me, creativity is both longing and fulfillment.” – Anna Demel
fleischundblut is the title of our first exhibition at the galerie gugging vienna in the freshly dawned new year 2023, where we present works by Anna Demel for the first time – three-dimensional, sublime wall objects made of paperboard that appear like metal … Cnouchis, as the artist calls them. The presentation is rounded off by works of the photo collage artist Johannes – Lejo – Lechner, from whom we exhibit – as a contrast to the intensely striking objects of Anna Demel – newer, more delicate works.
Curator Irina Katnik is pleased to start the new year with a female position and to present something completely new:
“We also see our galerie gugging vienna as a playground for new collaborations and discoveries … here Anna Demel’s Cnouchis fit perfectly into the concept.”
Hailing from Vienna, self-taught artist Anna Demel was originally a professional dancer and was prompted by an injury to find her creative channel anew. In 1999, painting became Demel’s new artistic outlet. In addition to working on canvases and wood, the artist soon encountered paperboard, which quickly became her favourite material.
“Paperboard has cooperated extremely well with me and my painting style. New techniques are constantly emerging, pushing the boundaries more and more. I treat the material the way it feels good to me and the way I need it for my different types of work each time: painting, churning, texturing, or creasing … that’s how the name Cnouchis came about.”
Inspired by a visit from gallery director Nina Katschnig in the winter of 2021, work on Anna Demel’s three-dimensional Cnouchis really took off. Everything the Viennese artist touches, she does with great passion and heart, thus the exhibition title fleischundblut (a series of works consisting of five pieces, two of which will be shown) becomes the programme.
About the title finding Demel says with a twinkle in her eye:
“My Cnouchis speak to me. I have also tried to think of titles in advance. But it doesn’t work that way, my works guide me – and not the other way around.”
Anna Demel works intuitively and can’t be without artistic creation for long, because then an inner restlessness overcomes her and the next Cnouchi “calls” her and initiates the creative process. In addition to her artistic work, Demel is also a successful coach and is happy to collaborate with the galerie gugging vienna, which she has appreciated for a long time.
Visit – fleischundblut | cnouchis by anna demel – our first exhibition in 2023. You can expect Cnouchis and small & large, high-quality, churned writing books, which Anna Demel affectionately calls Booklets. The works of the artist Johannes – Lejo – Lechner fit perfectly into this world and convince with their clarity.
*Opening:
Wednesday, February 1, 2023, 6.30 pm
