GROUND
DIANA SCHERER
&
ISABELLE WENZEL
#16
Introduction
It’s the imperfect, clumsy grown and casually looking flowers in the work of Diana Scherer that are intriguing me, perhaps that is because of their tendency to be almost invisible in their natural environments. I easily overlook them, they merge into their vicinity. I normally do not pay attention to them, but in the work of Diana Scherer they get full attention. They proudly stand in the picture and because of their simplicity they are beautiful. How rare or how common, the origin from the flower doesn’t seem to matter to the artist. A nettle or dandelion is as valuable as a rare flower. Sweet, tender and vulnerable are not the only relevant designations that apply to Scherer’s work, that would be too unambiguous. There is whole world hidden beyond the flowers, one that is not revealed to us. Quite a process preceded the picture, a ritual of planting, raising and gathering. With lots of care Scherer raised the plants shown at her pictures. Seeds were planted into fertile soil, in carefully selected pots and vases. With much love,
care and patience they grew into mature plants. Her work also has another, more brutal side. When the plants are finally fully grown, they are roughly stripped of their safe enclosure. The artist reveals the roots and earth by destroying their pots. They are expropriated by Scherer and destroyed after they have served. The shape of the pot or vase is retained in the clod, as a reference to what was, and the manipulation by the artist. The plants are used and designed by Scherer as stand alone sculptures. Here is a resemblance to the work of Isabelle Wenzel who uses her own body as a sculpture. Isabelle Wenzels work is quirky and cheeky, yet very stylish and aesthetic, a feature that makes her work unique. Two legs in a tight skirt of shiny wrapped up plastic, fiercely placed on a pedestal, the style of clothing and background color just right aligned. The focus is entirely on shape, color and purity of the object. You can’t get around it, those legs get stuck in your mind, continuing to fascinate. Sometimes it is a seemingly simple staged image, sometimes a complicated pose. Isabelle who as a child trained as an acrobat, poses with an inborn naturalness. Nothing in the picture is manipulated; you see it as it is. Making a picture is for Wenzel a process of trial and error. Sometimes it takes a while before an interesting picture emerges. This process gives her work a touch of performance art. Her images almost never show a face, the person behind the model doesn’t matter, its identity remains hidden. It’s the body that is important, the way we view the human body and the emotions that certain postures can evoke. The model has changed in an abstract object.
Caroline O’Breen Seelevel Gallery
DIANA SCHERER
ISABELLE WENZEL
With great pleasure and appropriate pride, we are pleased to present Ground Magazine #16 that Mieke Woestenburg completely devoted to the work of Diana Scherer and Isabelle Wenzel. Two acclaimed artists that we highly appreciate and whose new work we will present at the upcoming international Unseen Photo Fair. Although their work is completely different, this duo presentation nevertheless matches in a most natural way. As you will see there are more similarities than it seems at first sight. @ Mieke Woestenburg and Annique Heijmans, we want to thank you for this enjoyable cooperation. We greatly appreciate it and look forward for future projects together.
We hope to meet you all at Unseen. Enjoy reading! Manon Funcke and Caroline O’Breen Seelevel Gallery
GROUNDMAGAZINE # 16 2012
Photography: © Diana Scherer Photography: © Isabelle Wenzel Special thanks to CarolineO’Breen and Manon Funcke @ seelevel Chantal van Genderen @ AFC
Groundmagazine Editor in chief: Mieke Woestenburg office@groundmagazine.org www.groundmagazine.org
dianascherer.nl isabelle-wenzel.com
seelevel.nl