Annette Schröter

papercut
Painting

Text

Time Cutouts (excerpt)
by Michael Hering (in: Annette Schröter - Taska, MMKoehn 2015)

In the series entitled Taska (Russian for melancholy), the artist confronts the viewer with a jumble of dissonant motifs, recreating a journey through time. Individual paper cuts have the effect of faded and crudely sketched images from memory, others seem to come from direct experiences on a journey, gathered along the way, whilst at the same time encountering radically divergent realities of life. As we will see below, this series, which is made up of many parts, is a daring and masterful artistic statement in which in a polyphony of motifs conjures up a multitude of sensory impressions. Any attempt at linear or tendentious explanation can lead only ad absurdum. Instead she affords us a multi-layered glimpse into a different world, without running the risk of descending into the anecdotal or moralistic.

The wide expanses of grain field pictures provide an easy introduction to the series. Viewed symbolically, the individual heads of grain merge gently into a rolling, flowering matrix. Only on the horizon does the unimaginable complexity of forms merge an area of monotone, in which the agrarian idyllic scene is transformed into the megalomaniac vision of an all dominating centrally controlled collective farm. The only resistance is provided by individual stems that lean forward obstinately, criss-crossing the monotone backdrop. The living personification of a girl’s head adorned with ears of corn could also be interpreted as an ode to a prosperous agrarian society, if were not for the fact that she remains without facial features, hidden behind a pattern that covers the entire field of view. The ornamental camouflage becomes a balaclava, or should I say, hurricane lantern – a visual puzzle that is a warning message, writing on the wall.

The Taska series draws its vitality from these ambivalent interpretations, which are a recurring theme. They can also be seen when interpreting individual paper cuts. Here our attention is drawn by the colourless motifs of the military memorials. Daring perspectives and cut-outs of images make them appear less monumental, so it is only possible to speculate about their actual function. An eloquent example of this are the sharply defined, rigid faces of two young soldiers. At first, due to the sharp contrast of the black and white and their exaggerated pose, they look like portraits of heroes that have turned to stone. At the same time they become transfigured by the diffuse background noise of parallel paper cuts to pale shades of grey, so that in their extinguished eye sockets, their once visionary goal implodes into a fantasy. In contrast, we see the breast of a young land girl in profile, in which the motif is revealed using means beyond clichés. The subject appears puzzlingly obscured, enraptured and not of this world. Here Schröter is extending the classic methods of the paper cut (silhouette) in a precise manner. The motif behind the pale frosted glass turns into an aporia, ultimately becoming the beautiful illusion of a deceptive rural idyll leading a timeless shadowy existence.

Complimenting these exaggerated classical motifs, there are other works in the series that appear to reflect the present without presenting a normal everyday life. The ones that stand out most of all include the rasterized „no weapons“ sign. Signs like this warn visitors to east European shopping malls that handguns are prohibited, an aspect of life that not everyone will understand initially. Equally fantastical is the towering structure of an abstract web of thread. In its circling lines it reveals itself to be the dimensionless architectural phantasmagoria of a subcutaneous network. Similar to the representative buildings of the Stalin era, these new stylistic blunders are springing out of the ground like mushrooms in the super-rich city centres of Eastern European cities.

On the other hand, we have fleeting impressions gathered on journeys, such as stray cats basking in the sun, or of the shadow of a palm tree on a brightly coloured tile, everyday moments captured within a raw city idyll. From this angle it is possible to interpret the motifs of a harshly coloured, crudely sketched children’s playground or a brightly painted duck-themed train ride in an amusement park at night. In the end they contrast with a previously described high tech hedonistic society like anachronistic vestiges of a parallel world of the past. From one picture to the next, Schröter exploits all the methods of paper cutting with great virtuosity. She goes beyond the catchy and trivial to precisely express each every tiny observation as part of a masterly work of art.

In the Taska series, the paper cut loses all echoes of its craft folklore tradition. This is especially clear in the diversity of ornamentation, one of the special attractions of the series. In them we see an encounter between East and West, between folk art and the artistic avant-garde. Seen as a whole, they tell of the coexistence of different traditions and layers of time, as well as the abundance of cultural movements and influences. Overall these abstract tableaus, free from any value judgement, celebrate the diversity of life experience and stand as an abstract proclamation of cultural pluralism.

Biography
  • 1956 born in Meißen
    1977 - 1982 Studies of painting at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig in the class of Prof. Berharnd Heisig
    1999 - 2001 Professorship in painting at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design, Halle/Saale
    2004 - 2005 Assistant professor at the Academy of Visual Arts, Dresden
    2006 - 2022 Professorship in painting at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig
    lives and works in Leipzig

Solo shows

  • 2024 Von Menschen und Mustern, Kunstraum Villa Friede, Bonn
    Hinter den Toren (mit Gudrun Petersdorff), Galerie Koenitz, Leipzig
    Am Rande des Geschehens, Galerie Kleindienst, Leipzig
    2023     Im Laufe der Zeit, Weißes Haus, Markkleeberg (Germany)
    Vor Schrebers Garten, Kunstverein Buchholz (Germany)
    Fenster zum Hof, Galerie Ines Schulz, Dresden
    2022     Häuser. Bäume. Männer, Galerie Kleindienst, Leipzig
    Annette Schröter - Scherenschnitte, Galerie Urs Reichlin, Zug (Switzerland)
    Vor Schrebers Garten, Galerie Wichtendahl, Berlin
    Im Laufe der Zeit, Kunstverein Teterow (Germany)
    2021 Vor Schrebers Garten, Galerie Rothamel, Frankfurt am Main
    Mein Freund der Baum - für Alexandra, Kunsthaus Kleber, Weinheim (Germany)
    2019     Weltbilder, Städtische Galerie Eschborn (Germany)
  • Übersee, Wichtendahl Galerie, Berlin
  • 2018 Montevideo (with Erasmus Schröter), Museum of Visual Arts, Leipzig
  • Montevideo (with Erasmus Schröter), Stadtgalerie Kiel
  • Alles über die Rose, Kunstkabinett Tiefenthal (Germany)
  • 2016 Weggefährten, Galerie Peters-Barenbrock, Ahrenshoop (Germany)
    Taska, Galerie Wichtendahl, Berlin
  • 2015 Taska, Galerie Kleindienst, Leipzig
    Trostbrücke (with Erasmus Schröter), Kunstverein Freude Aktueller Kunst, Zwickau (Germany)
    2014 NUN - Annette Schröter, Papierschnitte 2008 - 2013, Anger Museum, Erfurt
    SCHNITT FÜR SCHNITT, Cut Outs, Städtische Galerie im Schloß Isny, Allgäu (Germany)
    2013 zartumriss'ne holde Finsternisse, Galerie Wichtendahl, Berlin
    2011 Escape from Colditz. Annette Schröter & Erasmus Schröter, departurelounge, London
    Nowadays, Gallery Wichtendahl, Berlin
    Light and shadow (with Erasmus Schröter), German Embassy, London
    Paper, Pertwee Anderson & Gold, London
    2010 Paper cuts, Art association Marburg, Marburg (Germany)
    Song of time, Gallery Rothamel, Erfurt
    2008 Wild Growth;Gallery Binz and Krämer, Cologne
    More Wild Growth, C. Wichtendahl Gallery, Berlin
    Light and shadow (with Erasmus Schröter), Gallery of the Guardini Foundation Berlin
    Drawn by knife, Museum of Visual Arts, Leipzig
    Walk on snow - für Robert Walser, Gallery Elten&Elten, Zürich
    2007 Homeland, Gallery Barbara Davis, Houston
    Traditionel Dress, Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford (UK)
    2006 Traditional Dress, UH galleries, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield/London
    Gallery Kleindienst, Leipzig
    Wild Growth, City Gallery Bern
    Walk on snow - for Robert Walser, Gallery Peters-Barenbrock, Ahrenshoop (Germany)
    2005 Rabbit country, Gallery Kleindienst, Leipzig / Gallery Binz & Krämer, Cologne
    Knife, fork, scissors and light, C. Wichtendahl Gallery, Berlin
    2004 Schröter + Schröter, city museum Oldenburg, Oldenburg
    Walk on snow, Art association Panitzsch, Panitzsch (Germany)
    Walk on snow, Gallery Carla Renggli, Zug (Switzerland)
    2003 Schröter + Schröter, City museum, Siegburg (Germany)
    Look into the country, Gallery Kleindienst, Leipzig
    black and white, Gallery Peters-Barenbrock, Berlin
    2002 Schröter + Schröter, Museum Young Art, Frankfurt/Oder (Germany)
    Rosengarten, Art association Zweibrücken, Zweibrücken (Germany)
    Schröter + Schröter, art hall Erfurt, Erfurt
    2001 Gymnastics, art association Marburg, Marburg (Germany)
    Gymnastics, art hall Luckenwalde, Luckenwalde (Germany)
    2000 Images 1997-2000, Gallery Brockstedt, Hamburg
    Villa Kobe, Halle
    More Rose Garden, Gallery Kleindienst, Leipzig

Group shows

  • 2024 Geschnitten, gefaltet, geformt - Papier, Kunststation Kleinsassen
    VEB Museum, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden
  • Hunger nach Bildern, Museum No Hero, Delden (Netherlands)
    Can it be Love?, Galerie Rothamel, Frankfurt am Main
  • 2023 Viele Wahrheiten, Galerie Ines Schulz, Dresden
  • Die Überraschung - Art from the East 1960-2020, No Hero Museum, Delden (The Netherlands)
  • 2022 Zwischen den Paradiesen, Galerie Alte Schule, Ahrenshoop (Germany)
    Virtuos, Gustav-Lübcke-Museum, Hamm (Germany)
    Bilderkosmos Leipzig. 1905-2022, Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig
    2021     Schwarz/Weiss, Neue Galerie, Dachau (Germany)
    Hommage. 27th Leipziger Jahresausstellung, Werkschauhalle Spinnerei, Leipzig
    2020     Bärtiger Mann, Schloss Klippenstein, Radeberg (Germany)
    Kosmos Ost. Art of GDR 1949-89, Museum Ernst-Barlach-Haus, Hamburg
    10th Salon der Gegenwart, Hamburg
    #cute. Inseln der Gegenwart, NRW-Forum, Düsseldorf
    Twenties, Galerie Rothamel, Erfurt (Germany)
  • 2019 Dirty Hands. Annette Schröter and master students, Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus, Schwandorf (Germany)
  • The Leipzig Connection, Croatian Association of Artists (HDLU), Zagreb (Croatia)
  • Point of No Return, Museum of Visual Arts, Leipzig
  • Milchstraßenverkehrsordnung. Space is the Place, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
  • 2018 Was bleibt. Positionen aus Leipzig, Galerie Schloss Parz, Grieskirchen (Austria)
  • Scharf geschnitten, Galerie Stihl, Waiblingen (Germany)
  • Scharf geschnitten. Vom Scherenschnitt zum Paper Cut, Neunkircher Kulturgesellschaft / Stadtische Galerie Neunkirchen (Germany)
  • Konvoi. Annette Schröter & master students, Galerie Rothamel, Erfurt
  • Mit dem Messr gezeichnet, Barockschloss Delitzsch (Germany)
  • Aussicht - Einsicht, Museum Sinclair Haus, Bad Homburg (Germany)
  • 2017 Ladder to Heaven, Neuer Pfaffenhofener Kunstverein, Pfaffenhofen (Germany)
  • Reload! Tracht - Kunst - Mode, Museum der Westküste, Foehr Island (Germany)
  • Che resta/Was bleibt, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua (Italy)
  • 2016 Klassentreffen, Sparkasse Art Exhibition Hall, Leipzig
  • Pink Powder - de la Cruz Collection, Cotilla Gallery, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (USA)
  • Immer und Ewig. 23th Leipziger Jahresausstellung, Westwerk, Leipzig
    Gegenstimmen - Art in GDR 1976-89, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin
    Light & Shadow, Kunstverein Speyer
    2015 Die bessere Hälfte - Malerinnen aus Leipzig, Kunsthalle der Sparkasse, Leipzig
    Aus dem Dunkel, Galerie Supper, Baden-Baden
    Tierversuche, Galerie Rieker, Heilbronn (Germany)
    StadtKunst - KunstStadt, Städtische Kunstsammlung, Wiesloch (Germany)
    2014 KUNST. SCHULE. LEIPZIG Malerei und Grafik nach 1947, Museum of Visual Arts, Leipzig
    Woodcut/ Linocut/ Papercut, Kunsthalle Gießen
    Final Cut - Papierschnitt als eigenständiges Künstlerisches Medium, Horst-Janssen-Museum, Oldenburg
    Kein Spaß / Annette Schröter und Meisterklasse, Galerie m2a, Dresden
    in I Amsterdam - You Berlin, St. Johannes Evangelist Church, Berlin
    geschnitten - Räume mit der Schere gezeichnet, Kulturstiftung Schloss Agathenburg
    2013 20. Leipziger Jahresausstellung, Westwerk, Leipzig
    Schaufenster: Zwickau meets Dresden, 15 Jahre Kunstverein Freunde aktuelle Kunst, Zwickau
    Blütenzauber, Museum Schloss, Bad Arolsen
    No Fun, Annette Schröter + students of the master class Annette Schröter, Gallery Rothamel, Erfurt
    GEKAUFT - Neuerwerbungen der Grafischen Sammlung 2003 - 2013, Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig
    2012 Leipzig Art Panorama, Seongnam Art Center, Seoul (South Korea)
    Power Flower, Abtart, Stuttgart
    geteilt/ungeteilt, Kunst in Deutschland 1945 - 2010, Galerie Neue Meister/Albertinum, Dresden
    Das Loch in der Wand, Galerie Kleindienst, Leipzig
    Tischgespräch mit Luther - Christliche Bilder in einer atheistischen Welt, Angermuseum, Erfurt
    Es war einmal, Galerie Ute Parduhn, Düsseldorf
    2011 Wrong Friends, Gallery Kleindienst, Leipzig
    Wrong Friends, art association Kühlungsborn
    BRP Paper / Black Rat Projects, London
    Cut X, art gallery Fürth, Fürth
    Cut, Museum of Modern Art Kärnten/Klagenfurt
    After the Goldrush, art association Speyer
    Convoy Leipzig, Biksady Gallery, Budapest
    Saxonia Paper, Kunsthalle of Sparkasse Leipzig
    2010 Gabriele- Münter- Award- Exhibition, Martin- Gropius- Bau, Berlin
    Paper cuts - Pure Countur, Museum Bellerive, Zürich
    Korso - Five painter-women from Leipzig, Philara Collection, Düsseldorf
    With plug and edges - Paper cut today, city museum Heilbronn
    Interface print, gallery of the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig
    Papercuts- Cut Outs, Gallery of contemporary, Hamburg
    2009 The work tastes, Gallery Rothamel, Erfurt
    Peacocks' eyes - Three Professors, Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig
    Brand New Purchase 2007/2008, Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg
    Forty-one degrees, Gallery Binz & Krämer, Cologne
    Paper cuts - Pure Contoure, Museum Bellerive, Zürich
    60/40/20. Art in Leipzig since 1949, Museum of Visual Arts Leipzig
    Carte Blanche IX - In front of native scenery - Art in the Sachsenbank, Collection Landesbank Baden- Wuerttemberg, Museum of Contemporary Art Leipzig
    16. annual exhibition Leipzig, Josephs- Konsum, Leipzig
    2008 The Leipzig Phenomenon, art hall Budapest
    Light and shadow, Annette Schröter and Erasmus Schröter, paper cuts and photography, Guardini Gallery, Berlin
    New Leipzig School, Cobra Museum, Amstelveen
    fresh- baked, Barbara Davis Gallery, Houston
    Against the light, Museum Villa Rot, Bergrieden- Rot
    2007 Since Leipzig, art hall Wittenhagen
    Paper Cuts, Hove Art Museum & Art Gallery, Hove/East Sussex
    Brühlette Royal - Periperie as center, art association Friends of contemporary art, Museum of the city of Zwickau
    The exposed animal - animal coexistences, art association Kiss, Castle of Untergröningen
    Paper Cuts, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, GB
    Miracles about miracles, art hall Erfurt
    2006 Made in Leipzig – Pictures of a city, Essl Collection, Klosterneuburg
    Back to Figure-Painting of Present, art hall of the Hypovereinsbank, Munich
    A time for havens, city museum Bautzen
    Leipzig Select, Gallery Barbara Davis, Houston
    Paper Cuts, Bury St.Edmunds Art Gallery
    2005 Eurostars + video unplugged, Galerii S.E. Bergen, Bergen
    Flora and Fauna, art association Villa Streccius, Landau
    At the same eye level, Gallery Frank Schlag, Essen
    Art Frankfurt
    Art Forum, Berlin
    The red carpet, art association Kiss, Castle of Untergröningen
    2004 Globalia, Women´s Museum, Bonn
    Works on paper, Gallery Binz & Krämer, Cologne
    2003 Woman in arms, Women´s Museum, Bonn
    Bellissima-body-construct-beauty, Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig
    Art Forum, Berlin
    2002 Desired images, Museum of Visual Arts, Leipzig
    2000 Gabriele Münter Award Exhibition, Women´s Museum, Bonn
Exhibitions