FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SILKE SCHÖNER: COLOR IN WHITE

May 6 – June 4, 2011

Dillon Gallery is pleased to present its third exhibition of paintings by Silke Schöner. These recent paintings continue Schöner’s deep engagement with the landscape of her native Germany and extend her interest into interior spaces. In both cases, she focuses on the pictorial tension between the explicit and the implied, the seen and the unseen. Her canvases are panoramas of openness with long ribbons of detailed landscape unfurled across a stark white ground, leaving the viewer free to extrapolate what is left unstated and to embrace the stillness. She says of the work, “In my landscape paintings, I try to find a state of open space and tranquility that resembles deep breathing.”

This spareness often allows us space to enter the landscape, this strangely interior-exterior world, but in her actual interiors mysterious figures occupy the space for us. Usually facing away from the viewer, we can only surmise what they are thinking or feeling or even seeing; Schöner does not impose her meaning. In all of her canvases a pencil sketch of the entire scene starts the process but in the end it does not dictate the result. Much of that drawing will remain unfilled, a barely visible ghost-presence that only appears when we approach closely.

Though she is from the far west of Germany, Schöner went east to study in Dresden not long after the Wall came down. There, under the influence of the Leipzig School, she was exposed to an unbroken tradition of figurative painting maintained and oddly protected behind the iron curtain during a time when this type of academic training had virtually disappeared in the west. This influence can be detected in her assured drawing, her strong compositional sense, her lack of false drama. Her palette, subtly shimmering against the powerfully empty presence of the white field, is made up largely of close-hued greens, browns and grays. The resulting works are finely balanced, enigmatic compositions which resonate with a peculiar truth even as they leave much to the imagination.

Schöner says, “The specific character of painting is found in its silence, stillness and permanence… In contrast to [other] forms of art, the timeless moment in painting fascinates me...”

Silke Schoener was born in 1968 in Krefeld, Germany and currently resides in Kassel. She attended art school in Kassel and Dresden from 1988-94. Her work has been exhibited widely in Europe, in Japan and in New York.
 

SILKE SCHÖNER

Schöner has a BFA from Dresden Art School, 1991 and an MFA from Kassel Art School. Though she is from the far west of Germany, Schöner went east to study in Dresden soon after the Wall came down. Under the influence of the Leipzig school, she was exposed to an unbroken tradition of figurative painting that had oddly been protected behind the iron curtain during a time when this type of academic training had virtually disappeared in the west. This influence can be detected in her confident drawing, her strong compositional sense and her freedom from false gestures.

Schöner’s deep engagement with the landscape of her native Germany focuses on the pictorial tension between the explicit and the implied, the seen and the unseen. Her canvases are panoramas of openness with long ribbons of detailed landscape unfurled across a stark white ground, leaving the viewer free to extrapolate what is left unstated. She says of her work: “In my landscape paintings, I try to find a state of open space and tranquility that resembles deep breathing.” All of her canvases begin with a pencil sketch of the entire scene, yet the sketch does not dictate the end result. Much of that drawing will remain unfinished, a barely visible presence, appearing only as the viewer approaches. Her work has been exhibited widely in Europe, Japan and the United States.


 

Selected Solo Exhibitions

  • 2011 Dillon Gallery, Color in White, New York City
  • 2009 Dillon Gallery, New Paintings, New York City
  • 2008 Gallery Strenger, Tokyo, Japan
  • 2007 Dillon Gallery, New Paintings, New York City
  • 2006 Gallery Ulrich Gering, Frankfurt, Germany
  • 2005 Olvier Ahlers Gallery, Goettingen, Germany
  • 1999 Hafemann Gallery, Wiesbaden, Germany