The idea of Carte Blanche is to provide a platform for contemporary art now. Local and International creatives and artists will be given the opportunity to show their works in a virtual gallery online and a gallery space at the Aurora premises.
september 2024
Karin Schmuck
Karin Schmuck was born 1981 in Bolzano and lives and works in Siusi, South Tyrol. Before her Master in Photography at the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna, Italy she studied Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, Urbino, Italy. Since 2009 she has exhibited her works in various solo and group exhibitions and won several prizes like COMBAT prize and PREMIO CARLO GAJANI. Schmuck´s artistic approach initially involves years of exploring different themes and projects, the physical commitment and performative act as well as the theme and concept of the border are dominant. The artist uses her body as a real “recording device,” making physical rotations by 180 degrees when needed to take photographs. This happens in the case of Opposites and Imaginary Landscapes series. The body is a tool that allows the artist to enhance the gaze. Consequently, the gaze is not limited to sight, but calls into play the whole bodily dimension. Her artworks can be defined as photography in the field of tension between reality and fiction. The investigation of how images are read, taking up classical elements and reversing them in order to cause a kind of irritation in the viewer and stimulate the act of seeing and reflection. An infinite amount of reading and research for all her projects as well as the writings of art historian John Berger on seeing are certainly decisive of Karin Schmucks body of work. Walking for the artist means moving at the “right” speed, which is why she chooses to integrate it into her work, by which it is certainly influenced.
„Seeing comes before words. It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world.“
About
Karin Schmuck
INFINITY
INFINITY, the title of the solo exhibition, can be seen as the first retrospective of the comprehensive oeuvre of the young artist Karin Schmuck. The last 8 years of her work are illuminated with selected works from various series and media.
Seascapes, horizons, as well as mountain worlds - borders of our current as well as mythological borders are the central theme of Schmuck's works. Human and metaphysical transitional areas can be discovered. The separating as well as the connecting element ("con-fine" contains the word end but also the word with(each other) of the theme border, interest the artist.
Ambiguity is a recurring element in Schmuck's work and also stands for the medium of photography itself. The photographer's point of view and that of the viewer jointly define the work and leave room for the "in-between", the edges, the periphery.
Schmuck is interested in untouched nature, in "non" places that are given little importance.
The artist loves the challenge of exposing and capturing areas that are rarely visited. She explores the natural phenomena and myths of these places. She tries to juxtapose the past with current social and political events of our time and to show connections.
The flowing transitions in nature are juxtaposed with the physical boundaries of the work. The artist loves this tension. In her projects, the artist attempts to combine Greco-Roman mythology, as the cradle of our culture, with her personal experiences, such as the exploration of a territory and current local events. In doing so, she usually refrains from depicting people or man-made objects in order to provide a more distant perspective and also to draw attention to the transience of human beings.
In the last 4 years, the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic was decisive, the artist has hiked the borders of South Tyrol and created the series LIMITIS.
Somewhat before that, Schmuck began the WORLD`S ENDS series (2019). The Strait of Gibraltar, where the artist walked the approximately 70 km long coastal strip on the Spanish and Moroccan side, was the first location of WORLD`S ENDS.
The ascent of the Rock of Gibraltar and Jebel Musa in ancient Greece marked the western end of the known world, today a crossing point for refugees from south to north. Schmuck specifically focuses on the axial shift: East|West - South|North.
The examination of the theme of overcoming physical and mental borders and the departure into the unknown are shown.
Literature from Se questo è un uomo by Primo Levi and Divina Commedia, 26th Canto, Hell, Dante Alighieri have accompanied the artist on her solo journey.
Schmuck's artistic approach encompasses years of exploring various themes and projects, prioritizing physical engagement and the performative act of walking. The artist uses her body as a real "recording device", physically turning 180 degrees when necessary to take photographs. This happens especially in the case of LIMITIS and WORLD`S ENDS.
The body is a tool that enables the artist to intensify the gaze. Consequently, the gaze is not limited to seeing, but includes the entire physical dimension. Giving space to complexity, SEEING and WALKING as an act of cognition are central themes.
Studies of numerous historical and mythological writings and research for all her projects as well as the writings of the art historian John Berger on seeing are decisive for Karin Schmuck's work. Her works can be defined as photography in the field of tension between reality and fiction.
The examination of the way images are read takes up classical elements and reverses them in order to trigger a kind of irritation in the viewer and stimulate the act of seeing and reflection.
Schmuck likes to work with inversions, she tries to capture contrasts in one and the same image.
The work shown at the Aurora
They are sold directly by the artist to the customer with a certificate of authenticity and invoice.
Event Photos
THE IDEA
The aim is to curate the Hotel’s art specifically - we want there to be good stories and a lasting wellbeing for the guests as well as try to make them have a unique and distinctive experience. The interplay of art design and the Hotel Aurora’s architecture is what characterizes this special place in South Tyrol. The historic hotel in Merano is marked by art treasures and designer pieces that one can find throughout the hotel as well as in every room and this is what makes the Aurora so outstanding. Carte Blanche will host about 6 art exhibitions per year and is keen on giving artists the opportunity to also create site specific works for the hotel that will be shown permanently. The shown art works as well as art editions of works on display will be available at the Hotels Aurora’s own art corner.
THE CURATOR
The upcoming exhibitions will be curated by the freelance curator Eva von Ingram Harpf. Curator Eva von Ingram Harpf, 1987, after graduating from Bocconi University in Milan with a thesis in Art Banking worked at Johann König Gallery in Berlin, as well as Ghetta Gallery, Ortisei and holds a Master´s degree in Contemporary Art from Sothebys London. Since 2012 she works as an independent curator and art adviser and is based in Bolzano, Südtirol, Italy. She is a member of the board of ar/ge Kunst Bozen and founder of y-contemporary platform.