Katharina Grosse plunges Gagosian Britannia Street in colour
![Installation view of ‘Katharina Gorse: Prototypes of Imagination’ at Gagosian, London](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4nqWeqRcQRrLXk6UH9QHDe-415-80.jpg)
Katharina Grosse is no stranger to colour. The German artist is well known for her in situ paintings, which sees her splash a dizzying array of colours onto various surfaces while responding to events and happenings around her. Following her immense installation Wunderbild at the National Gallery in Prague, Grosse has once again created works of a similar scale to present at Gagosian’s London Britannia Street address, dubbed ‘Prototypes of Imagination’.
One can describe Grosse as a philosophical graffiti artist. Her use of a spray gun and stencils on a canvas is consistent with those we often associate with the street and reckless vandalism. Yet her work is a purposeful exploration of existential concerns, and she treats colour not as a superficial entity, but rather a vehicle for her thoughts and her imagination.
The exhibition features one large central canvas accompanied by seven smaller canvases. Grosse paints her large canvas in particular with the exhibition space in mind – she is aware of how the architectural features of the space will play into the viewer’s experience of such an imposing work. Her play on dimensions represents her interest in ‘imagining big’, while being an insignificant speck in the fabric of the universe – it is this contrasting relationship that allows her to conjure these melting pots of bright hues.
There is a reassuring quality in the chaos of Grosse’s canvases – they are an optimistic representation of the power of our imagination despite our small existence.
Installation view of ‘Prototypes of Imagination’ at Gagosian, London. © 2018 Katharina Grosse and VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy of Gagosian
Untitled, 2018, by Katharina Grosse, acrylic on canvas. © 2018 Katharina Grosse and VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian
Installation view of ‘Prototypes of Imagination’ at Gagosian, London. © 2018 Katharina Grosse and VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy of Gagosian
INFORMATION
‘Katharina Grosse: Protoypes of Imagination’ is on view until 27 July. For more information, see the Gagosian website
ADDRESS
Gagosian
6-24 Britannia Street
London WC1X 9JD
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
‘Mental health, motherhood and class’: Hannah Perry’s dynamic installation at Baltic
Hannah Perry's exhibition ’Manual Labour’ is on show at Baltic in Gateshead, UK, a five-part installation drawing parallels between motherhood and factory work
By Emily Steer Published
-
Francis Alÿs plots child play around the world at the Barbican
In Francis Alÿs' exhibition ‘Ricochets’ at London’s Barbican, the artist explores the universality of play, even in challenging situations
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
At Glastonbury’s Shangri-La, activism and innovation meet
Glastonbury’s south-east corner is known for its after-dark entertainment but by day, there is a different story to tell
By Rhian Daly Published
-
‘I am almost an anti-sculptor’: Dominique White on her Whitechapel Max Mara Art Prize show
The artist mines the ocean to explore Afrofuturism in ‘Deadweight’, opening at London’s Whitechapel and detailed in a new film
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Remembering Rusty Egan's Blitz Club: a place to 'avoid the mob and the homophobes', where the New Romantics were born
As he releases new vinyl boxset, 'Blitzed!', Wallpaper* meets DJ Rusty Egan to talk about London's scene-building Blitz club – the antidote to the late 70s punk scene and a hot-bed of experimental fashion
By Craig McLean Published
-
Suzannah Pettigrew's 'tender and ghostly' new show at Surrealist photographer Lee Miller's former home in East Sussex
London-based artist Suzannah Pettigrew's photographic stills create a snapshot of her Sussex coast childhood, conjuring up a hallucinatory world of memory
By Mary Cleary Published
-
The body, pleasure and play: Beryl Cook and Tom of Finland united in London
Tom of Finland’s homoeroticism meets Beryl Cook’s female-oriented camp as Studio Voltaire unites work by the two artists in a London exhibition
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Harlem-born artist Tschabalala Self’s colourful ode to the landscape of her childhood
Tschabalala Self’s new show at Finland's Espoo Museum of Modern Art evokes memories of her upbringing, in vibrant multi-dimensional vignettes
By Millen Brown-Ewens Published