Page 110 - VOL 8

Rubica von Streng

Rubica von Streng graduated from Berlin’s University of Arts UdK as a masterclass student in 2018. Her works,
such as the paintings of the monumental “PortLand” cycle, have found a place in highly recognized art
collections in Germany and aborad. They often deal with the beauty of nature, biodiversity and the future of
civilization.
Abstract portrait and landscape painting enter an exciting liaison in her oeuvre. Her multilayered, oil paintings
on canvas and paper appear watercolor-like and radiate an unexpected lightness, however heavy and
complex the subjects. The artist achieves this balancing act by means of her self-developed so-called
arpeggio painting technique: wafer-thin layers of highly diluted oil paint are applied one after the other,
creating a powerful ensemble of overlapping color spaces and forms that interact with fragments of varying
shapes.
“Rubica von Streng’s works provide viewers with a continuous and moving visual experience,” says Kerstin Bitar,
chief art historian at Museum Rosengart Collection, Lucerne. “In an interplay with initially recognized motifs,
they will constantly discover new figures, plants and landscapes. It is a continual process. This unfolding of very
different visual elements in her pictures is extremely fascinating. Her PortLand works open up many different
perspectives – into the depths, into the distance, into the future.”

States of Transition
What happens when what is transforms? In other words, gives space and time for a change of shape. Or cannot help but give space and time for it, since the
circumstances require it. Deformations occur passively or actively. Or they develop from passive acquiescence to active creation if the process of deformation requires
(or favors) it.
The works of the series „States of Transition“ show snapshots of gestalt changes, as if frozen at a certain point of deformation. It is as if time and form would have
petrified in order to give viewers the opportunity to study this transitional state in detail before the process advances.
The dynamics apparent in the drawings indicate that the end of the deformation has not yet been reached. It remains open to what result it may lead. In this respect,
the content of these drawings is similar to that of classic short stories: Their beginnings and endings are abrupt; the action takes place during a limited period of time
in a single location; they usually describe a conflict that leads to a turning point.
The quest for this turning point, for change, for a change of direction, reflects one of the longings of today‘s society: many consider the status quo as unsatisfactory;
they want a more dignified present, a future worth experiencing. Both do not come about automatically, but require new forms that must first be thought and felt –
yearned for, if you like.

110 SoT NC I - Ink on Japanese paper, 16.5x11cm, 2021