Transformation, in the context of personal metamorphosis, involves a profound shift in perception, behaviors, and character. It is beyond what is typically observed with growth or maturation and involves a conscious effort to take routine steps to evolve. Alexandra Oracz’s work vividly captures the essence of metamorphosis through her paintings, where the figures are depicted bending gracefully in a manner that mirrors the movement of tides, symbolizing the constant state of change. Water, symbolizing adaptability and transformation, is a recurring motif in her pieces that serves as a powerful representation of the perpetual evolution and unpredictability of life. Her artwork vividly captures the fluidity and resilience of the human spirit, with the figures’ graceful and powerful movements embodying strength and adaptability in the face of life’s obstacles. Just as water seamlessly adapts to the shifting tides and ripples, we too must learn to navigate the changes and challenges in our lives with similar flexibility and resilience. Oracz highlights the stages involved in the journey to inner peace and eventual self-acceptance.
After navigating the developmental journey from birth to adulthood, including experiences of trauma, how can we undergo personal transformation while simultaneously addressing familial, societal, and global challenges? In particular, how do these issues affect women who have the added experience of patriarchal expectations and norms?
From birth, the experiences of various forms of inflicted trauma, socialization through perceived roles within one’s environment, and the overall playing out of internalized communications, wounds, and social standards gradually formulate the self over time. It is only when we question the validity and the quality of these roles and process our individual lived experiences that transformation can take place. Sociologist Émile Durkheim states, “A mind that questions everything, unless strong enough to bear the weight of its ignorance, risks questioning itself and being engulfed in doubt.” Personal transformation is a lifelong endeavor, with past pains and behaviors resurfacing unexpectedly, even in seemingly trivial moments.
Typically, we can’t as individuals achieve a cleansing and rebirth alone. The significance of community is represented by Oracz through the showcasing of individuals woven and intertwined, forming a supportive network that provides stability and connection during times of transition. The contact between people within the water symbolizes the importance of care from others while facing the resistance produced by transformation.
The continuous waves of change can be overwhelming for individuals, underscoring the importance of embracing life’s natural course. Consequently, this process also requires individuals to identify aspects of their lives that hinder personal growth, understand those aspects, and then let them go while simultaneously building a strong support network to navigate life with the scars that are still present from the past.
This does not go without recognizing the difficulty at play in transformation. Oracz’s pieces eloquently capture the internal struggle of self-discovery, portraying moments of profound stillness that prompt deep introspection and the quest for solace amidst the unsettling nature of transformation. The real challenge is navigating uncertainty and embracing the discomfort that accompanies personal growth.
Oracz’s work exhibits strong references to early Expressionists and female painters, particularly in her choice of subject matter and emotive style. The emotional introspection she explores — often framed through quiet connections between bodies and souls — recalls Edvard Munch’s The Sick Child series, in which Munch grapples with the entanglement of human suffering, love, and mortality. Like Munch, Oracz does not shy away from the intangible and ineffable; instead, she channels emotional states through softened forms, muted palettes, and a gestural handling of paint that communicates interiority more than external likeness. In both artists, the figures exist not merely as bodies but as vessels of psychic and spiritual resonance, their interactions suspended in an atmosphere of reflection and vulnerability.
Yet where Munch’s brushwork often heightens psychological anguish through turbulent marks, Oracz tempers her canvases with a calm, almost meditative stillness. This quality draws her closer to Paula Modersohn-Becker, whose small-scale portraits and still lifes similarly evoke a sense of intimacy and serenity. Like Modersohn-Becker, Oracz often works on modest supports – cardboard and modestly sized canvases – that emphasize the personal over the monumental. The titles of her works, such as Bond by Touch and Unified in Rest, underscore this turn toward the quiet bonds of human connection rather than the spectacle of emotion. Modersohn-Becker’s tender approach to form and atmosphere, particularly in her portraits of women and domestic interiors, resonates with Oracz’s ability to balance emotional depth with compositional restraint.
By synthesizing Munch’s exploration of raw, interior feeling with Modersohn-Becker’s gentler humanism, Oracz situates herself within a lineage of artists who translate the inexpressible into tactile, visual language. Her use of acrylic on humble surfaces serves not merely as a material choice but as an extension of this ethos: the works are direct, immediate, and intimate, designed to invite contemplation rather than awe. In this way, Oracz continues the Expressionist and early modernist legacy of making visible the fragile, unseen dimensions of the human experience while softening their severity by placing them relationally to nature and its quiet reflection.
Acting on curious impulses and maintaining a culture of wonder are essential to connecting with the world and developing a strong sense of self. Michel Foucault, a French sociologist, historian, and philosopher, declares curiosity is vital to self-care. It’s an ethos that shapes one’s entire existence, not merely just a way of life. Foucault argues in “The Masked Philosopher” that curiosity “evokes ‘concern…’ a readiness to find strange and singular what surrounds us; a certain relentlessness to break up our familiarities and to regard otherwise the same things; a fervor to grasp what is happening and what passes.”
In a similar vein, Andrea Colitti believes that to live without curiosity is to live without life. His current works are soft, spectral, and suffused with pastel light and soul-like figures. They prompt the viewer to pause and embody curiosity not as inquiry for facts, but as a way of perceiving, a mode of openness, and a challenge to what is usually visible or known.
Colitti utilizes the technique of painting onto canvas with acrylic and then layering plastic on the front or back sides to create multidimensional and esoteric spaces. The soft edges, pastel hues, and fluid layering introduce figures that are faint and dissolving, emerging from the color fields like apparitions or memories.
Historically, one can see some similarities and comparisons to artists Helen Frankenthaler, Gerhard Richter, and Lina Beržanskytė-Trembo. Frankenthaler, an American abstract expressionist painter, employs the iconic soak-stain technique in her work, where diluted paint is applied directly onto unprimed canvas. For her, the process was an act of artistic curiosity—a willingness to let materials behave unpredictably, to see what color might do when liberated from control. Richter uses scraping, smearing, and overpainting to obscure details and figures. Colitti’s Hidden Faces piece portrays a similar appearance to his work with dark colors and the covering of figures. Beržanskytė-Trembo blurs the boundary between portraiture and apparition, using layered, glowing colors and gentle forms to hint at an identity without fully revealing it. Colitti’s work acts similarly and evokes the message, what does it mean to be seen but not fully known?
Curiosity requires challenging conventional structures and habits while also having an understanding of cultures and institutions. This can allow for the creation of a more equitable and responsible world. It also means stepping outside of one’s comfort zone to see if what they have always believed is true. It is a critical questioning of dogmatic ways of life and an ethical reforming of the self through reflection and acts of transformation.
***Deutsch***
Neugierigen Impulsen nachzugeben und eine Kultur des Staunens zu pflegen, ist unerlässlich, um mit der Welt in Verbindung zu treten und ein starkes Selbstbewusstsein zu entwickeln. Der französische Soziologe, Historiker und Philosoph Michel Foucault erklärt, dass Neugierde für die Selbstfürsorge von entscheidender Bedeutung ist. Sie ist eine, die gesamte Existenz eines Menschen prägende Ethik, nicht nur einfach eine Lebensweise. Foucault argumentiert in „Der maskierte Philosoph“, dass Neugierde „Besorgnis hervorruft … eine Bereitschaft, das, was uns umgibt, als fremd und einzigartig zu empfinden; eine gewisse Unerbittlichkeit, unsere Gewohnheiten aufzubrechen und die gleichen Dinge anders zu betrachten; eine Leidenschaft, zu begreifen, was geschieht und was vergeht“.
In ähnlicher Weise glaubt Andrea Colitti, dass ein Leben ohne Neugierde ein Leben ohne Leben ist. Seine aktuellen Werke sind weich, gespenstisch und von pastellfarbenem Licht und seelenähnlichen Figuren durchdrungen. Sie veranlassen den Betrachter innezuhalten und Neugierde nicht als Suche nach Fakten zu begreifen, sondern als eine Art der Wahrnehmung, eine Form der Offenheit und eine Herausforderung an das, was normalerweise sichtbar oder bekannt ist.
Colitti verwendet die Technik, mit Acrylfarbe auf Leinwand zu malen und dann Plastik auf der Vorder- oder Rückseite aufzutragen, um multidimensionale und esoterische Räume zu schaffen. Die weichen Kanten, Pastelltöne und fließenden Schichten lassen Figuren entstehen, die blass und sich auflösend sind und wie Erscheinungen oder Erinnerungen aus den Farbfeldern hervortreten.
Historisch gesehen lassen sich einige Ähnlichkeiten und Vergleiche zu den Künstlern Helen Frankenthaler, Gerhard Richter und Lina Beržanskytė-Trembo feststellen. Frankenthaler, eine amerikanische Malerin des abstrakten Expressionismus, verwendet in ihren Werken die ikonische Soak-Stain-Technik, bei der verdünnte Farbe direkt auf ungrundierte Leinwand aufgetragen wird. Für sie war dieser Prozess ein Akt künstlerischer Neugier – die Bereitschaft, Materialien sich unvorhersehbar verhalten zu lassen, um zu sehen, was Farbe bewirken kann, wenn sie sich der Kontrolle entzieht. Richter verwendet Kratzen, Verschmieren und Übermalen, um Details und Figuren zu verschleiern. Colittis Werk „Hidden Faces” weist mit seinen dunklen Farben und dem Verdecken von Figuren eine ähnliche Erscheinungsform auf wie seine anderen Arbeiten. Beržanskytė-Trembo verwischt die Grenze zwischen Porträt und Erscheinung, indem sie vielschichtige, leuchtende Farben und sanfte Formen verwendet, um eine Identität anzudeuten, ohne sie vollständig zu enthüllen. Colittis Werk wirkt ähnlich und ruft die Frage hervor: Was bedeutet es, gesehen, aber nicht vollständig erkannt zu werden?
Neugier erfordert es, konventionelle Strukturen und Gewohnheiten in Frage zu stellen und gleichzeitig ein Verständnis für Kulturen und Institutionen zu entwickeln. Dies kann zur Schaffung einer gerechteren und verantwortungsvolleren Welt beitragen. Es bedeutet auch, die eigene Komfortzone zu verlassen, um zu sehen, ob das, woran man immer geglaubt hat, wahr ist. Es ist eine kritische Hinterfragung dogmatischer Lebensweisen und eine ethische Reformierung des Selbst durch Reflexion und transformative Handlungen.
After exhibitions in New York, Paris, and Milan, Fabien Dettori returns to Berlin with Whispers of the Muses, on view at Gallery GH36 from April 5 to 30, 2025. Blending photography with a painter’s sensibility, Dettori crafts timeless compositions where chiaroscuro meets delicate gold accents, evoking the spirit of Rodin, Freud, or Ingres. His work explores impermanence, memory, and the interplay of light and shadow, revealing the poetic in cracks, textures, and fleeting forms. Between intimate still lifes and raw, expressive nudes, Dettori captures the tension between fragility and strength, the personal and the universal. The exhibition features never-before-seen works, including unique pieces with gold leaf, acrylic, and Polaroids, alongside hand-finished prints on cotton paper. Whispers of the Muses offers a sensory and emotional journey—an intimate dialogue between image, space, and viewer.
that title popped up into my head a while ago. i always collect sentences, using them as titles. often a long time before i use them. the title of an art work for me is always important. i got taken in into art school becuase of the creativity of my titles. so the title also influnces the work itself. i was working with sticker tape for a couple of years but after a while i really got fed up with this medium. so i did some drawings etc but couldnt really get into this very obsessive mood wich i need to keep going. i got frustrated and bored of the taping process. so i cont really work for a while besides experimenting. one morning my neighbor had a big ball of wool in her hands and asked me, if i had any use for it. i said sure, why not. my grandma taught me how to knit and crochet etc. and i was remembering that feeling when i did crocheting as a kid. it took all of my anxiety. so after that ball of wool was lying on my table for a couple of weeks, i got so stressed out by my private life that i took it and – started. i couldnt stop. it felt like heaven. also, because it slowed me down. wool isnt a very elegant medium for me and wool clothes are not really interesting or makeing them. i had the idea to get my aestetics into this rather rustique material. i wanted to go big. i felt like the farmers daughter in the fairytale ‘rumpelstilzchen’- she had the gift of makeing gold out of straw. all my anxiertes and worries were gone. so why did i call the show ‘last options’? because it was exactly the feeling that i had befor i grabbed the wool and started. ive got nothing to lose. just do it. nowadays the title fits very well to current times, politics or whatever. so what would you do, in a moment of ‘last option’ vibe? some people jump of the cliff – i started crocheting. i also find the whole medium quite ‘punk’ in a way. in times of multimedia and AI, there is that woman who slows down and creats stripes, useless objects made out of wool. i like that. luxury starts when things are kind of unnescessary, without use but captivating and entertaining, or whatever. also time is luxury for some people. eventhough i think thats overrated. time and luxury and tech. i am not sure how this medium will develop or if i make another series. i am at least curious and not scared of new materials. yeah, id say about myself that in a way i am an obsessive-compulsive neurotic. and i like it.”
Miriam Glinka 2025
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Miriam Glinka is an interdisciplinary artist, born in Frankfurt/Main, as great great grand daughter of famous composer Mikhail Glinka.
Education: Staedelschule, HBK Weissensee, Udk Berlin with Professors Peter Angermann, Wolfgang Peuker, Herrman Nitsch, Georg Baselitz. Graduated as master student of Wolfgang Tillmans at Staedelschule/ Frankfurt am Main
Her works are mainly abstract, geometrical and colorful. After working with sticker tape, she discovered wool as a new material. The material is always important. There must be some sort of obsession for the material. That’s when the process starts.
As an artist, she thinks that everything should be absorbed like being a sponge. No matter if its anxiety or architecture.
Glinka lives and works mainly in Berlin and London UK
Saskia Walker – Solo Exhibition
Saskia Walker is a multi-talented artist originally from Köln and presently living between Berlin, Germany and Luxor, Egypt.
Through her studies, Saskia has received degrees in art history, architecture and a masters in the arts.
Most of her career has been focused in film making specifically within documentary where in 2020 she began her process back into art creation.
The upcoming solo exhibition, opening on the 8th of November, will display Saskia’s works from 2023/24 in gouache, Indian ink and wax on paper and carton.
Vernissage Friday November 8, 2024 @ 7pm
Special Guest with Opening Text from philosopher, media theorist, artist, and curator Lioudmila Voropai. https://monoskop.org/Lioudmila_Voropai
EUREKA – Patrice Lambeau
Patrice Lambeau* Is a Swiss born artist that has made an impact on the contemporary art scene through his experimental approach that merges traditional fine art techniques with innovative digital technology. This unique combination allows him to create dynamic and visually striking works that transcend conventional boundaries in art.
Lambeau’s philosophy of art as a dialogue between the artist and their perception of the world encourages viewers to engage with his pieces on a deeper emotional level. He describes the creative process as “sculpting emotions through a series of creative decisions,” which invites audiences to reflect on their own experiences and interpretations of art. „For me, making art is the process of discovering beauty, meaning, urgency, humor and a way to explore our social and political climate”.
By exhibiting internationally and participating in various art fairs, Lambeau has contributed to the dialogue surrounding modern art, encouraging a more inclusive understanding of artistic expression.
The upcoming exhibition at GH36 from Oct 2-12, 2024 entitled „Eureka“ considers the no-thought delightful moments of truth or magical human discovery of the steps that lead to completion and fulfillment as a creative individual. As it comes to decision, each one is perceived as a golden moment.
ART TO GO
Group exhibition of three experienced Berlin based artists focused on their work of the self, the alter-ego and dreams of distorted desire. Has art just become a coffee to-go or how does one define the quality and value of what we are to enjoy and bring reflection.
Spent examines the compulsive insatiability of the industrial processes of extraction and consumption. Through a dialogue of photography and sculpture, this exhibition presents the brutal traces left by humanity on natural landscapes alongside monolithic sugar sculptures deployed as disruptors of Berlin’s post-war monocultural forests.
Liz Miller Kovacs’ visceral photography captures the remains of sites ravaged by excavation and remaining pollution, revealing the devastating effects of industrialized greed. Her latest works, printed on metal sheets, contrast with her earlier, more vibrant photographs, creating a visual autopsy of environmental degradation.
Richard Green’s industrially refined sugar sculptures, including grainy nighttime trail cam footage shot in Brandenburg, underscore the artificiality of our environment and the impact of human intervention in nature.
4 Jul-14 Jul 2024
Open: Wednesday-Sunday 14:00-18:00 and by appointment
Ammar Abaza is a critical digital artist based in Berlin. He sheds light on the downfalls of urban life and how is it redrawn and manipulated. His work follows a pantological methodology, stemming from different fields of art, concept design, illustration, architecture, and technical design. In addition to being very dark, captivating, and unique, his artwork is also based on research that he does in the urban design field. Ammar uses art as a critical tool, otherwise known as ‘critical Dystopias’ to translate urban issues from specialist to artistic and more concrete form, to help raise awareness of the issues and dangers that are vague now, but would have very dire consequences down the road.
For this exhibition, the gallery will be open daily from 14-18 or by appointment. (Closed Monday) Feel free to contact us.
What might you do if you were forced to make a change? This coming Friday evening June 23rd from 19:30pm, artist Miriam Glinka reveals stories from her drawings such as “Damaged Superstar or Like shit flies in a bell jar.” This collection of drawings were made “lefty” by Ms. Glinka after her right collar bone and hand broke and opened her world with continued desire to push on with her artistic works. We welcome you in seeking the arts of living.
Andrea Colitti, born in Rome, began creating and tinkering as a child and hasn’t stopped. Following his studies and work in electrical engineering, he chose a path of seeking the use of advanced art techniques to push self-taught borders seeking to realize and reflect his life through the works.
With previous residencies in London, Paris and now local in Berlin, he is in the midst of studies with light and colors and alternative recycled materials. In the exhibition and installation Lightbild, one can see how the change in light allow for a different view and to reveal an array of colors, although they are the same images. How we see people or concepts within reflected light or communications. Colitti is known for his shadow people, detailed scenes of his life and music.
Other than his painted works with complimentary lights, in the center of the room is the a/v helmut module installation: “Stagemask.” Play yourself and see yourself in an altered view.
Friday, Feb 10, 2023 Colitti will be in the Galerie offering Portraits on his new analog machine, drawing portraits through perspectives of an altered lens on plastic reprinted via Screenprint or digital scan. Open from 15uhr with Event begin at 20uhr.
Feel free to email for an appointment or for pricing catalog of works. Thank you for your interest.
Does the ultimate Buddha just accept everyone no matter what? Should we just consider outlets to thought of the eventual future graves without living recourse? Trying to stay on the good self with relaxed vibes.
23 Berlin based artists (painting, photography, drawings, collage, mixed media, visual arts and sculpture) Each artist deep in their perspective of their self and the reflection of their moment in a delayed time with movement. In case you missed it, the semi-automatic vinyl remix station will be back live in October and available on exclusive request with replay on 103.3X/DJ RAY DIO
