In fact, jumping back and forth between the different works proves to be just as fruitful as a closer look at a single canvas – individual elements can be found several times, such as the dynamic, swirling brushstrokes that seem like a secret taxonomy.
The different formats of the paintings also become apparent.
“Smaller paintings help me to cope with larger ones,” she explains, “the large ones are impressive from the outset, simply because of their size.
They are simply more manageable because the dynamics of the painting process are transferred one-to-one. With the little ones, on the other hand, you have to sit down and immerse yourself in them.” Petra Penz is a wanderer between worlds precisely because of her furiousness and her often figurative blurriness. As a link between abstract realism and figurative painting with echoes of the old masters, she explores the nature of her personal freedom from a female perspective and creates sensual, formidable webs of color. Her paintings reference old masters such as Titian, Velasquez, Goya and 20th century painters such as Francis Bacon, Willem de Kooning and especially Cecily Brown.