erika roessing (1903 – 1977)
The Solitude of Objects
erika roessing, Früchte auf dem Blatt (Detail), 1974
In her tranquil, poetic tempera paintings, erika roessing repeatedly rearranges similar objects – and yet each painting is unique. Her oeuvre, comprising some 180 still lifes, radiates calm and subtle colourfulness. Geometric surfaces structure the compositions, creating an ornamental quality and coalescing with impressions from her travels and favourite motifs such as apples, birds and jugs. Theme and variation are the hallmarks of the work of this artist, who deserves to be rediscovered and whose last solo exhibition took place in 1980 at the Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz.
The retrospective at Lentos is exhibiting around one hundred paintings by the artist, who trained in Linz (together with Herbert Bayer, among others) and Gmunden (under Franz Zülow) and later lived in Essen, Berlin, Stuttgart and Gauting. The focus is on the collection of 50 tempera paintings donated by Karl Rössing in 1979, supplemented by a number of earlier loans.
The exhibition shows erika roessing’s still lifes in dialogue with major works created by her husband, and highlights the artistic symbiosis of the couple.
Curator: Elisabeth Nowak-Thaller
Curatorial Assistant: Sofie Hagenlocher