Anna Virnich: Lightning Visible, No Thunder Heard

“The works in the exhibition by German artist Anna Virnich almost all refer to the set of techniques, styles and looks commonly addressed to as “painting.” But instead of applying paint onto the canvas, Virnich sews and stitches together by hand different fabrics like polyester, velvet, cotton, silk, even leather or metal mesh. While some of these fabrics are see-through or semi-transparent and thus offer a barely disguised glimpse of the simple wooden frame constructions behind, others are shimmering or even wrinkly, highlighting the surface. And while fabrics replace “paint” and, at the same time, the “canvas,” seams and stitches function as equivalents of lines and gestures. In this way, Virnich quite literally “sutures” her single elements into a disparate yet carefully composed whole that signifies “painting” without actually being it.”

From an extract by Dominikus Müller.