Project Room

Monique Becker - Wer Weiß Was Schwarz Ist

For the project room of the Konschthal, Monique Becker exhibits several monumental formats which impose themselves by a generous and free vision of contemporary painting.

The pictorial material is the subject of these large canvases. Based on a recent history of pictorial materialism, Monique Becker imposes herself in this field, which has long been dominated by male artists, with a strength and vigour that transgresses formatting and conventions.

At the Konschthal, Monique Becker exhibits a series of pictorial dialogues that exacerbate the concrete aspects of the material and the pictorial gesture, and this intrinsic strength establishes a direct, spontaneous relationship with the viewer.

Biography

Monique Becker's works present an ongoing exploration of the colour black in contrast to white and grey shades, as well as earth tones. The artist creates poetic large formats in which utter physical commitment and a close engagement with the canvas are required. Inherent in the artist's paintings are a high degree of spontaneity as well as a dynamic use of brushes, body parts and colours. It is not uncommon to see relief-like elements in the artist's paintings, highlighted by the full use of her body, but mostly her hands, revealing claws and scratches. The artist brings forth a vibrant festival of colors - black, white, grey, ocher, brown, pale pink, olive green - and inflamed movements that captivate the viewer. The artist is expressing freedom and a joie de vivre by superimposing and the coexistence of paint layers and materials. Monique Becker's paintings evoke a sensual intensity and are charged with emotions. The artist focuses on herself and her sensations, which are often shaped by her engagement with nature.

Known for her black paintings, Monique Becker is now surprising with a series of white paintings. A few months ago, the artist started a series of white paintings entitled "Who knows what is black". Nothing is ever black or white. The white and the more figurative are usually hidden under the many layers of paint. In the presented work the artist has decided to reveal the deeper layers and let her "figures" breathe. Her usual spontaneous brushstrokes become visible in free movements.

Born 1958 in Luxembourg.
Lives and works in Luxembourg.