Kerstin Brätsch, Daniel Karrer, Philipp Schwalb

Alrun Aßmus, Kerstin Brätsch, Christine Gironcoli, Daniel Karrer, Franziska Kneidl, Vincent Kriste, Shinoh Nam, Philipp Schwalb

Things do not always remain as they appear at first glance. Clear outlines may become blurred upon closer inspection. Figure and ground are learned concepts. Their relationship can suddenly be inverted when a disruption makes the gaze shift. Pictures are always twofold: they are representation and shaped material at the same time. But where to draw a line between the motif and the brushstroke or other traces of its making? Under which circumstances is a painting perceived as a spatial object? What is its front and what is its back? Where are its boundaries? And when is it finished? The exhibition brings together works by artists who engage in an intensive exploration of materials and techniques while constantly reflecting on the conditions of their field. They immerse themselves in the process, explore the range of possibilities and test the limits, until something emerges that they decide is worth keeping.

The works of Alrun Aßmus, Kerstin Brätsch, Christine Gironcoli, Daniel Karrer, Franziska Kneidl, Vincent Kriste, Shinoh Nam and Philipp Schwalb do not make bold statements. They do not proclaim a point of view or illustrate a message. What they reveal is the process of their making and their appeal lies in their ambivalence and openness. They are also an expression of trust – in viewers who are willing to accept the offer to look more closely and perceive what is first hidden and only appears after a while.

Alrun Aßmus (b. 1996, Göttingen, Germany) lives and works in Cologne. She studied with Frances Scholz at HBK Braunschweig and at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Aßmus’ textile works explore the relations between high culture and crafts. Her imagery seems to reference the vocabulary of pop art, while actually focussing on artisanal production associated with the domestic realm, like baking and knitwork. Her use of silk organza reflects a keen attention to materiality.

In 2025 Aßmus was awarded with the Henriette Madaus Kunstpreis. Her exhibitions include Lore Deutz, Köln (2025); Artist's Studios, Tel Aviv (2024); Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, Aachen (2023); Kunstverein Junge Kunst, Braunschweig (2020); Künstlerhaus Bregenz (2019); Shoot The Lobster, New York (2017). Alrun Aßmus is part of the network Textiler Künstler*innentreff Köln and co-runs two exhibition spaces in Cologne: Lore Deutz and Alte Tankstelle Deutz.

Kerstin Brätsch (b. 1979, Hamburg, Germany) lives and works between Berlin and New York. Her artistic practice is grounded in painting, which she expands through the incorporation of traditional crafts such as stained glass, stucco and paper marbling. In large-scale, colourful compositions she explores the boundaries between abstraction and materiality and questions conventional approaches to painting in the digital age. Her works operate within an open, constantly shifting system, appearing as fragments of ongoing processes. In collaborations with other artists and artisans she evades traditional concepts of authorship. In 2007, Brätsch co- founded Das Institut with artist Adele Röder, developing a collaborative and hybrid visual language. Since 2010 she has collaborated with Debo Eilers under the name Kaya. Brätsch's work has been the subject of several solo exhibitions, notably at Kunstmuseum Bonn (2025/2026); Casa São Roque, Porto (2025/2026); the Munch Museum, Oslo (2025), the Ludwig Forum, Aix-la-Chapelle (2022), the Fondazione Memmo, Rome (2018), and the Museum Brandhorst, Munich (2017). She has participated in major group exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale (2022 and 2011), Camden Art Centre, London (2020), the Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (2020), and the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2014, 2020, 2024). Her works are held in major public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art and Marta Herford, as well as in prominent private collections internationally.

In 2020, Brätsch received the Helen Frankenthaler Award in Painting and in 2017, she was awarded the Edvard Munch Award by the Munch Museum in Oslo. In 2019, she received the Villa Romana Prize together with Debo Eilers, as KAYA. Kerstin Brätsch is represented by Gladstone Gallery.

Christine Gironcoli (b. 1941, Vienna, Austria) studied painting at Die Angewandte in Vienna in the late 1950s together with Günter Brus and Bruno Gironcoli. She returned to her artistic practice in 1995 after a long career in the conservation and restoration of painting. Her unique approach to painting is deeply informed by her former profession. Gironcoli works with historical textiles which used to serve as a means to preserve aging paintings, mounted as supports to the back of the canvases. In her painting process, the artist reacts to the discolorations, the traces and the ghostly imagery transferred onto the fabrics over decades and centuries, sometimes applying salvaged, timeworn objects.

Christine Gironcoli’s work was first presented to a wider audience at Kai Middendorff Galerie in Frankfurt am Main in 2019. This was followed by exhibitions at the Kunstfabrik Groß-Siegharts, Austria; Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman in Vienna and numerous solo presentations of her works by Kai Middendorff Galerie in Frankfurt am Main.

Daniel Karrer (b. 1983, Binningen) is a Swiss painter based in Basel. Karrer primarily works with reverse glass painting, a technique with a long and rich history in sacral art. Applying and manipulating vibrant layers of paint onto the back of the glass, he creates intriguing compositions which oscillate between figuration and abstraction. His practice is rooted in the pictorial tradition while engaging with the visual possibilities of digital imagery and evoking the aesthetics of screens.

Karrer had several solo exhibitions, most recently at Spencer Brownstone Gallery, New York (2025); Galerie Tony Wüthrich, Basel (2025); Galerie Barbara Seiler, Zürich (2023); and Ung5, Cologne (2022). His work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions, including Kunsthaus Baselland (2025); Galerie Hartwich, Sellin (2025); Art Basel Paris (2024); and Coleman Project Space, London (2021). In 2023, Karrer received the Kulturförderpreis Alexander Clavel-Stiftung, and in 2017, he was awarded the Strabag Artaward International. His works are held in the following collections: Museums zu Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen; Kunstmuseum Olten; Kunstkredit Baselland; Christoph Merian Stiftung, Basel; Helvetia Versicherungen; Julius Baer Art Collection; Swiss National Bank; Credit Suisse; Strabag, Vienna; and CCA Andratx, Spain. Daniel Karrer is represented by Tony Wuethrich Galerie.

Franziska Kneidl (b. 1967 in Bochum) is a German artist based in Frankfurt am Main. Kneidl first trained as a theater set painter before studying fine art at the Städelschule. Her work unfolds between sculpture, painting, and scenography. Created by layering painted or colored paper and transparent foil, her draped figures suggest an ambiguous, elusive presence, and invite viewers to animate them through their own imagination

Recent solo exhibitions include presentations at Kai Middendorff Galerie, Frankfurt (2025), and the Oberfinanzdirektion, Frankfurt (2023). Her work was part of group shows such as the exhibition at Kunstverein Ebene B1 Taunusanlage, Frankfurt (2019). Her works are held in the collections of MMK Frankfurt, the Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, and Kunsthalle Bremerhaven. Franziska Kneidl is represented by Kai Middendorff Galerie.

Vincent Kriste (b. 1979, Zurich, Switzerland) lives and works in Basel. His work engages with the multifaceted nature of painting, both as material and representation. He explores the physical properties of the medium through experimental techniques while depicting objects from everyday life. Often bordering on trompe-l’œil, Kristes work humorously questions the representation of reality and its inevitable fragmentation. Kriste has received the stArt Kunstförderpreis (2007) and was selected for the Swiss Art Awards (2018). Recent solo exhibitions include nano – Raum für Kunst, Zürich (2022) and Stiftung BINZ39, Zürich (2020). He has also participated in prominent group exhibitions, including Basel Social Club (2025); Galerie Marianne Grob, Basel (2025), Kunsthalle Basel (2022–2023), and FRAC Alsace (2023).

His works are held in the following collections: Credit Suisse; FRAC Alsace; Hoffman-La Roche; Helvetia Kunstsammlung; Kulturelles Baselland; Kunst(Zeug)Haus Rapperswil; Zürcher Kantonalbank; Kunstsammlung der Gemeinde Wettingen.

Shinoh Nam (b. 1993, Seoul, South Korea) lives and works in Berlin. He graduated from the Berlin University of the Arts (2022) and the Düsseldorf Art Academy (2021). His graduation project earned him the UdK Berlin Art Award in 2023. Shinoh Nam’s work explores architectural fragmentation as a metaphor for social, moral, and psychological ambiguity. With his comparative experience of both Asian and European concepts of culture he looks at the construction, destabilization and reassembling of identity and coexistence in relation to the primacy of progress. His sculptural installations often combine standardized industrial materials with visible traces of manual work – sometimes also handwritten notes and drawings. In 2025, Shinoh Nam received the Perdita and Hans-Peter Kunze Art Foundation Award. Recent and upcoming solo exhibitions include Mountains, Berlin (Gallery Weekend Berlin, 2026); NADAN, Berlin (2025), and SOMA Art Space, Berlin (2021). His work has been presented in group exhibitions at Maison Clearing during Art Basel week (2025); Choi&Choi Gallery, Seoul (2023), Wehrmühle Biesenthal (2023), and Bloom, Düsseldorf (2023). Works by Shinoh Nam are held in the Burger Collection, Hong Kong, and other collections in Europe and Asia.

Philipp Schwalb (b. 1984, Filderstadt, Germany) is based in Rotterdam and works as an artist, researcher, curator, and art educator. Since 2010, his work has explored the animation of color and figuration, with a focus on visual research. His painting materializes personal narratives while also being part of a wider, socio-artistic practice which extends across multiple fields, such as exhibitions, poetry, workshops, publications, and conventions. Schwalb co-founded the 8. Salon (Hamburg, 2010) and since 2011 has been engaged in a research project on Aby Warburg’s Mnemosyne Atlas. He co-founded the Mnemosyne study groups (Zurich/Geneva, 2017) and has organized the Mnemosyne.Atlas.Läb events since 2020, which developed into an international forum offering a hybrid format of online and in-person events.

Recent solo exhibitions include Cabanon, Paris (2025); New Toni, Berlin (2023), and Kirchgasse, Steckborn (2021). His work has also been featured in group exhibitions at Agence de Voyage, Paris (2024) and FRAC Lorraine, Metz (2021). Schwalb has exhibited and curated at CAP, Lyon; Kunsthalle Langenthal; Balcony, Lisbon; Kunsthalle Marcel Duchamp, Cully; Kunsthalle Basel; ZKM Karlsruhe; Kunstraum München; Villa Romana, Florence; David Castillo, Miami; and Agence de Voyages, Paris.

His work is held in the collection of FRAC Lorraine. Philipp Schwalb is represented by Kirchgasse gallery.

Stefanie Bringezu is an art educator and independent curator based in Berlin and Basel. At the Fondation Beyeler, she is responsible for the text-based media for the adult audience. Previous positions include the Bode Museum SMPK Berlin, Skulptur Projekte Münster 2017, and the Städtische Galerie Dresden. Focussing on young and contemporary art from Switzerland and Germany, from 2014 onwards she has curated exhibitions and produced performances and publications as part of the Basel based curatorial collective deuxpiece and in other constellations. In 2021, she worked with Eric Meier on a solo exhibition at the Marienkirche in Frankfurt (Oder).