Intaglio with relief on En Tout Cas paper
62.6 x 50.5 cm
Edition of 30, signed and numbered
Printed by Universal Limited Art Editions, Published by Whitechapel Gallery
About the work
Charline von Heyl has created Medusa, 2023 especially for Whitechapel Gallery to accompany Christen Sveaas Art Foundation: The Travel Bureau, Selected by Paulina Olowska, 14 January – 8 May 2022.
Medusa, 2023 takes its starting point from a series of recent drawings by the artist, which are made using an image-archive of black paper shapes. These shapes often resemble snakes - a recurring motif in von Heyl’s paintings, which she describes as like a baroque hand movement, curl or gesture. Other shapes are abstract; negative space found through offcuts or punched-out holes. Von Heyl layers and combines these cut outs, until an image suggests itself, intentionally sidestepping the notion of a finished work. Von Heyl then outlines the image in pencil, and fills in solid areas with black, before removing the paper elements.
Von Heyl selected one of these drawings from a series of around 50 works, for her Whitechapel Gallery edition, translating it through a combination of intaglio and relief printing. Printmaking is an important part of the artist’s practice, which she describes as similar in thought process to her painting.
About the artist
Charline von Heyl was born in Germany in 1960 and has lived in the United States since 1996. She studied painting in Hamburg and Düsseldorf and participated in the Cologne-based art scene in the 1980s. She currently divides her time between New York, NY and Marfa, TX.
Charline von Heyl’s abstract paintings, drawings and collages are endlessly layered, enigmatic visual experiences filled with surprising juxtapositions and interactions. Her work resolutely strives against maintaining a cohesive narrative or signature style, but instead is fearless in its formal diversity. It requires active perception and participation to take in her bold lines and gestures, and abstract shapes and patterns. Her configurations possess a unique dynamism and energy, imbued with flashes of humour but simultaneously unafraid of poetic depth and pathos.
Embodied in von Heyl’s work are series of experiences and emotions, often opposing to create an intriguing sense of contradiction and tension. They impart to the viewer an unpredictable chain of associations and subtle references. Her canvases are as thoughtful and cerebral as they are aesthetically balanced, with their bold but harmonious colour palettes and their almost printed, two-dimensional quality.
Selected Exhibitions
Charline von Hey has been exhibited both in the United States and abroad, including solo museum exhibitions at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC (2018); the Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium (2018); Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago (2015); the Tate Liverpool, United Kingdom (2012); the Kunsthalle Nurnberg, Germany (2012); Le Consortium, Dijon, France (2009), and the Vienna Secession, Vienna, Austria (2004).
Her work has been included in group exhibitions at Greene Naftali, New York (2019); Kunsthalle Nürnberg, Germany (2017); Gladstone Gallery, New York (2018); The Institute of Contemporary Art Chicago (2016); Museum Brandhorst, Munich (2015); The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2014); Sculpture Center, New York (2011), and The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles (2008).
Von Heyl’s works are in the collections of the Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; the Tate, London; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Hammer, Los Angeles; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others.
Whitechapel Gallery editions are generously donated by the artists. All proceeds from the sale of these works directly support our exhibition and education programmes. As is traditional in editions publishing, prices will rise as an edition starts to sell out.
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£1,500.00
(Members £1,350.00)
