Martina Kügler
Der Mensch ist ein Durchzuggebiet
06. August - 27. August 2021
Martina Kügler
Martina Kügler, who passed away in 2017, left behind an impressive, multi-faceted body of work. In addition to poetic texts, fine pencil drawings, colourful watercolour, chalk and felt-tip pen drawings and collages, there are also a number of canvas works, some of which are very expressive. The artist, who studied at the Städelschule in Frankfurt between 1966 and 1972, had a large repertoire of artistic expression at her disposal, oscillating in her work between abstract and figurative modes of expression.
But whether she finely worked out drawings, wrote poems or impulsively applied strokes or paint to paper or canvas, „her work always revolves around feelings“ (Hans-Jürgen Döpp).
Her artistic concern is characterised by a look into her own inner self, by a longing to explore the unconscious. This, but also her delight in the enigmatic and the fantastic as well as her connection to language and poetry place Martina Kügler in line with the Surrealists, even though she has also masterfully made various other artistic forms of expression of the 20th century her own in the literal sense.
A closeness to „Art Brut“ can also be seen in her work, which is not surprising, since she has always struggled with her own demons throughout her adult life. But if her impulsive works in particular do indeed possess a certain rawness and immediacy, they also show how much Martina Kügler was rooted in “ artistic thinking and European art history through her academic training“ (Thomas Röske).
The exhibition, which was created in cooperation with the Freundeskreis Martina Kügler and A Private Collection, Frankfurt, focuses primarily on the artist’s figurative work and shows a selection of works that not only come from different decades, but also depict the various media the artist used.