Galerie Noah Klink is pleased to present Framing, the second solo show of Josefine Reisch with the gallery. At the core of the exhibition is a series of paintings. This series is an amalgamation of her work on life-sized cut-out sheets and Josefine’s research into biography and historiography. The paintings purport a relationship between the picture frame of a portrait and the sitter‘s profile. In this case the profile can be understood as the side view of a face as well as reputation and legacy.
Picture frames inhabit a world between decorative arts and architecture and therefore are subject to changes in style and taste. Consequently frames were often changed to match the decor or to fit in with the prevailing trends. The framing of a historical character over time is subject to changes in style, taste, but also ideology and zeitgeist influence the way in which a story is told. Being interested in the constitution of icons Reisch takes picture frames of portrait paintings as a starting point to examine and thus highlight the contradictions and possible misreadings within the sitter‘s legacy over time.
Framing exclusively shows portraits of female figures. The origin portraits are all held in public collections and thus are conserved in institutional hands. Analyzing how power and value are distributed, her depiction of the female subject as well as the ostentatious picture frame works as playful comment on gender and high-culture. The works raise questions on the perception of painting and as well as female representation in art.
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