Claudia Steiner and Catarina Hällzon: Schmuck Wege

Artist list

Claudia Steiner, Catarina Hällzon

Portraits & Poses by Claudia Steiner

Striking shapes effortlessly presenting themselves, different metals in ghostly silhouettes, combinations of wood, fine pigment and synthetic resin mixtures; yellow and blue in the most varied shades, purple, wild flaming orange, translucent pastels contrasting with luminous and strong colours. PORTRAITS & POSES is an experiment with shape, material and colour and, at the same time, paying homage to the various styles of portraits through the history of art. Gustav Klimt’s female portraits, the self-portraits of Egon Schiele as well as Oskar Kokoschkas double-portraits with Alma Mahler were the inspiring starting points.
These three pioneers of modern art, however different in their style they may be, joined the struggle for new visual expression and the shaking of convention which , to a point, contributed to the breaking of taboos. Formative for the Vienna of the early 20th century and even now of great relevance: then, as now, they can either gladden, inspire, excite or even disturb – but never leave you cold. Perhaps to some extent this is a result of the pioneering findings of Sigmund Freud which the artists expressed in their works with deliberate arm, hand and body postures or as ornaments with hidden messages.
It was the great dramatic strength of these painters which inspired Claudia Steiner to create this unique collection. A further, important influence was the book: ‘The Age of Insight’ by Erik Kandel, which allows one to catch sight of the psychology within the paintings. The result is, in many respects, a versatile collection which allows the great portraits from the past to enter an artistic dialogue with the present and also some of its most important representatives, amongst others: Andy Warhol, Georg Baselitz, Alex Katz and Maria Lassnig. Also included is the concept of theatrical poses in music, which were for instance, for David Bowie, a core element in his presentation and was specifically used to convey unspoken messages.
Radical in their modernity and at the same time singularly intimate: so one becomes aware of object-like jewelry, in which the recognizable silhouettes blend into relationships with alienated outlines and surface contours or folds break away from what is expected and suggest new points of view, not only through the shapes but also in the materials used. Metals such as bronze, copper, silver and shibuichi are present together with wood, synthetic resin and luminous pigment combining together to create a tense energy field.
Through her jewelry sculptures, Claudia Steiner wishes to inspire the viewer to see the unexpected and the hidden meaning, to seek out the personality of the portrait subject and, at the same time, leave the viewer with sufficient latitude to develop his / her own interpretation. Scope for freedom is also intended for the presentation: the pieces go way beyond the classic concept of jewelry and as well as being worn on the body or clothing can be incorporated in part of a wall mounted sculpture.