Silke Otto Knapp at Mutina

Silke Otto-Knapp has conceived a place in which the paintings interact with ceramics, so initiating a conversation between figuration and abstraction. Painting meets the articulated ceramic environment here, resulting in new views in the confrontation between movement and solidity, body and matter, shape and surroundings.

The artist’s paintings, which are strictly black and white, depict figures that move in space in an interplay of positive and negative energy. The figures appear to move on a stage without thresholds, achieved by the employment of watercolours on canvas in a complex process of absorbance and stratification; a style of scenic design in which subject and background trade the position of protagonist.

The fundamental focus of Otto-work Knapp’s is dance, and the show is influenced in particular by Michael Clark’s choreographies and his ability to recreate traditional ballet through a modern lens. The rhythmic performance of the silhouette on the canvas, as well as the atmosphere that emerges from these expressive landscapes—concrete and elusive in the silence of the narration—take center stage.

The ceramic backdrops in Sarah Cosulich‘s show give access to a third dimension in which the spectator moves in relation to the paintings. A piece developed directly into ceramics in conjunction with Mutina enhances the presentation. This unique ceramic piece reflects the artist’s approach and its many souls.

Silke Otto-Knapp
Silke Otto-Knapp (Osnabrüek, 1970–Los Angeles 2022) has been one of the great international protagonists of painting. Born in Germany where she conducted her early studies, Otto-Knapp later obtained a Masters at Chelsea College of Art
in London where she then lived. Since 2014 she lived and worked in Los Angeles where she was professor of painting at UCLA. She has exhibited in solo shows at the Renaissance Society in Chicago (2020) and at Kunsthalle Wien, Kunstverein Munich, Camden Arts Centre, London, and Tate Britain in London. She has participated in group exhibitions at Barbican Gallery, London (2020), at Tate Modern, London, the Liverpool Biennial (2018), the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, the ICA Boston and the 9th International Istanbul Biennial (2005).

Mutina for Art

Mutina for Art is a contemporary art project that began at MUT, an exhibition space within Mutina Headquarters in Fiorano Modenese, and will continue in the space of Casa Mutina Milan beginning in 2021. Aside from a regular schedule of solo and group exhibitions, the Mutina for Art initiative includes the This is Not a Prize, an annual award granted in support of an international artist, and Dialogue, a series of collaborative collaborations with artists, galleries, and institutions throughout the world.

Mutina

Mutina, a company of distinction, represents a new way of looking at ceramics, not just as tiles but as an interior design project in its own right. It is a designer’s project that combines technology, craftsmanship, and experimentation to overcome material limitations, as well as critical research into extending the product’s high quality. Mutina works together with designers such Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Konstantin Grcic, Hella Jongerius, Laboratorio Avallone, OEO Studio, Raw Edges, Inga Sempé, Patricia Urquiola and Tokujin Yoshioka, who all share in the same passion and unique approach to the product, based on continuous research.

Curated by Sarah Cosulich.