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petra penz

freedom that i mean, that fills my heart, come with your light, sweet angel.

Max von Schenkendorf

This first verse of the freedom poem by Max von Schenkendorf could literally be the guiding principle of the oeuvre of the painter Petra Penz.
Freedom, not as an often quoted platitude, but as a desire for inner liberation.
If you also imagine that these lines were set to music by Die Toten Hosen, it would also match the artist’s power and painting style.

It was the time of the coronavirus restrictions that sparked product designer Petra Penz to shed her sense of restriction and use painting to reclaim the freedom that she and many others urgently needed.
What follows is an explosion of creative energy that produces powerful and life-affirming works.

Artist petra penz


  • Aspiring artist
  • Traded internationally

Exhibition 13-10-2022 Munich, ArtSpace GroupShow


Publications “freedom that I mean …”, 2022.
163 ONE SIX THREE | art in print Verlag


Morija No. 01 with chair in the studio; Photo by Petra Penz; 2022. © konsum163

"i want the pictures to lead their own lives - to be free and be able to develop"

petra penz

It would be wrong to believe that Penz’s painting has meditative dimensions.
Rather, it resembles an adventure trip – a departure into the unknown, into freedom.
Abstract spaces open up unexpectedly behind a thicket of color, hidden figures appear between cascades of colors or an enormous, bright blue space virtually tears the viewer’s gaze away behind a gnarled “tree or whirlwind” – the viewer must decide for himself.
The way in which supposed faces or hidden figures emerge, how pink, lemon yellow and orange clash elsewhere or how large surfaces are virtually attacked by brushstrokes – all this can confidently be described as “great painting”, a term that is just as anachronistic as the Swabian artist’s art itself.

Petra Penz in front of Obstacles No. 04, Photo by Daniel Biskup; © konsum163

"the things should hang in the air a little.
of course there is a relationship between the pictures, they have a debate with each other, but i myself don't know what about.
that's why i often just number the works.
they have to tell their own story"

petra penz

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.

Shortly before the opening of the exhibition; 2022. © konsum163

On hold :-); 2022. © konsum163

exhibition preparation

Obstacles No. 06, 150 x 190 cm, acrylic canvas, 2022. © konsum163

petra penz is a wanderer between worlds precisely because of her furiosity and her often figurative blurriness.

carsten lehmann, curator

Obstacles No. 06 (detail), © konsum163

freedom that I mean.

Photos by Ina Scherf. © konsum163

its me

exhibitions and bio

2023DERGARTEN IN MIR group exhibition Landratsamt Balingen – Balingen WILDE MISCHUNG 2 group exhibition at ISAR URBAN GALLERY, konsum 163-contemporary art gallery, Munich  2022ZUEINANDER group exhibition, Landratsamt Balingen – Balingen, Germany DREIZEHN / THIRTEEN group exhibition at Munich ArtSpace, konsum 163-contemporary art gallery, Munich WIR solo exhibition, Schwelhalle – Balingen, Germany MANCHE SPÜREN DEN REGEN group exhibition, Akademie der Kreiskliniken Reutlingen – Reutlingen, Germany DREIZEHN / THIRTEEN group exhibition at Munich ArtSpace, konsum 163-contemporary art gallery, Munich KEHRSEITE solo exhibition, Balingen, Germany  

 

 

The Swabian-born artist has a bachelor’s degree in product design and is a newcomer as a painter.
Nevertheless, she has created a large oeuvre in her short creative period.
Petra Penz has taken part in several group and solo exhibitions in the last two years and is now internationally recognized.

Responsible i.S.d.P. and economically liable:lehmann | konsum gmbh15926 LuckauCahnsdorf 163 lehmann@lehmann.de Managing Director: Carsten Lehmann HRB 7427 CB / VAT DE813639628
Tax no.
143/156/80469

The place of jurisdiction is Munich

konsum163modern art gallery 15926 LuckauCahnsdorf 163 in the old Konsum 0049 / 176 4125 9443 welcome@konsum163.art

konsum163modern art gallery 15926 LuckauCahnsdorf 163 in the old Konsum t. +49 / 176 4125 94 43 welcome@konsum163.art Responsible i.S.d.P. and economically liable:lehmann | konsum gmbh15926 LuckauCahnsdorf 163 lehmann@lehmann.de Managing Director: Carsten Lehmann HRB 7427 CB / VAT DE813639628
Tax no.
143/156/80469

Place of jurisdiction is MunichImprint and privacy policy

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