Glowing rock against an oscillating black background (Magma II), colorful discs on dancing serpentine lines (Luna Park): the associations are manifold. Black, red or earth-brown backgrounds envelop the viewers and invite them to immerse themselves in the surfaces. The seemingly monochrome spaces are modulated colors that rise and fall with incredible richness of nuance, created by pigments and the incidence of light.
Although Beatriz von Eidlitz’s artworks are purely abstract, memories nonetheless emerge: leaves, shells, fruits, meshes of roots and wires, crusts, fibers, and networks of microscopic cells cover iron plates (Greeting Pollock II, Circle Songs). Delicate color spectra of sand and charred earth, processed into powder, stimulate the sense of touch.
Black curved bands lead like burn marks to distant galaxies and create a unique aesthetic effect (Inktómis Pearl, Hidden Treasure, Flying up flying down, Roll over Mondrian). Conglomerates of circles dominate the picture plane and are reminiscent of cosmic movements (Into the Space, Once upon a Time, Planets, Sweet Seventeen, Dancing Colours, Behind the Moon). The number and distribution of the circular structures determine the dynamics and rhythm of the picture – endless and simultaneously closed, like a universe of its own. The dark backgrounds lend a special clarity to the color circles.
Red cones are arranged on a fibrous structure in the polyptych Take. Docked at the edge of the picture, the cones hang down, move up, left or right, or disappear from the picture plane, so that only fragments of circles remain visible. The contrast between the network of lines and the color forms creates both a sense of floating and motionless stasis.
In small panels (Happy Bauhaus), colorful rectangles nestle horizontally and vertically against each other in a patchwork-like pattern. The well-thought-out structure plays with color balance.
The pictures are incisive and concentrated, but it is in their reduction that their incredible spiritual power lies. The hard-edged contours reinforce the structures of the color fields and evoke a suggestive, meditative effect. Guided by the geometry of the picture, the viewer becomes immersed in expanding organic surfaces and textures. Although the artworks are very closely connected to nature, they are not intended to imitate it. What they all share in common is a sense of sophistication and freedom in the combination. The materiality used detaches the composition from its flatness: light wanders, shadows change, and the sense of space deepens. Even cracks and explosions become moments of artistic creation.
There are hints of the creative process, which the viewer cannot initially comprehend because the technique is unique. The artist pursues a decidedly experimental approach to image design and uses pigments, paper and image carriers in unusual ways. In a controlled process, she dusts color pigments onto an iron plate and scoops paper pulp over the surface. The moisture in the pulp causes the iron to oxidize. After drying, the paper bark is peeled off the iron plate, revealing randomly formed fragments and traces. The controlled randomness, the inherent passage of time, the oxidation of the pigments and the metal, the size and arrangement of the plates give the works their spiritual power. They are charged with meaning: hot iron, earth, wood, stone, growth and transience. Full of depth and throbbing with energy, the color fields embody memories and thoughts as materializations of change and stories.
Betha Maier-Kraushaar
Stuttgart, March 2025
Exhibition at Kunsthaus Fischer, Torstraße 23, 70713 Stuttgart from May 10, 2025 to June 07, 2025. Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday 12:00 to 18:00. A catalogue will be published.
