Matti Braun Untitled, 2010
Fabric paint, raw silk, cold rolled steel
Farbe, Rohseide, kaltgewalzter Stahl
Farbe, Rohseide, kaltgewalzter Stahl
61,5 x 51,5 x 3,5 cm (24 1/8 x 20 1/8 x 1 1/8 in)
The work consists of watercolor on raw silk framed in steel and painted in circular splashes that appear almost overtly reminiscent of post-painterly abstraction. The abstract motif is produced by means of an experimental textile process, and represents a continuation of Matti Braun’s Batiks, wall hangings, and Patolas, which – in contrast to his series of watercolors – are produced by using traditional techniques.
The dye process has its roots in Braun’s investigation and appropriation of traditional techniques of textile production often used for religious or ritualistic purposes but unlike his earlier Patola or Batik series this series no longer shows the iconographic traces of its sources. The practice of Braun investigates the unexpected, often little known effects of cross-cultural dynamics, making visible patterns of artistic migrations and cultural misrecognitions. His work is characterized by a constant negotiation between concrete references and general allusions, between poetic ephemerality and an uncanny sense of visceral immediacy.
The dye process has its roots in Braun’s investigation and appropriation of traditional techniques of textile production often used for religious or ritualistic purposes but unlike his earlier Patola or Batik series this series no longer shows the iconographic traces of its sources. The practice of Braun investigates the unexpected, often little known effects of cross-cultural dynamics, making visible patterns of artistic migrations and cultural misrecognitions. His work is characterized by a constant negotiation between concrete references and general allusions, between poetic ephemerality and an uncanny sense of visceral immediacy.