On Friday 29th September , the exhibition “La Infinidad del Ser” opened at Galeria HMH in Port d’Andratx. The German artist Judith Sturm, who lives in Mallorca, presents her latest series of works, which can be seen until 15 October.
A native of Saarland and a master student of Bodo Baumgarten, Sturm often deals with ideals of beauty and transience in her work.
In this exhibition, Sturm focuses on the human body. Her compositions show sections of figures placed in front of an elusive sea or pool backdrop. These scenes are mysterious and slightly surreal, and they draw the eye to the bodies, which are deliberately not depicted “perfectly”. Instead, they contrast with the calm backgrounds in soft blue tones by having a restless and pulsating skin texture.
Curator and gallery owner Andreas Streicher emphasises that Sturm’s work is about the variations and interpretations of positions and emotions of her protagonists: do these figures embody longing or boredom?
In addition, white “thought bubbles” break through the static calm of the backgrounds and float through the pictorial space.
The work “Concentration” is remarkable: a jumper in a red swimming costume shortly before diving into the water – the moment captured in the air. The dynamically curved posture almost playfully relates to the white colour circles – which in turn relate to the white semi-circular bathing cap. A light, dynamic and yet contemplative composition.
In addition to the images of human bodies, we discover an astonishing number of flamingo paintings in Sturm’s exhibition. The large-format ones in particular catch the eye. This raises the question of how all this relates to each other?
Indeed, there is an interesting connection between the human bodies and the flamingos. The artist explains that her particular mineral technique led her to the salt flats of Mallorca, a place where flamingos live, because Sturm works with the island’s salt.
During her stay, she spontaneously developed a fascination for these elegant birds and decided to put them on canvas using her special technique. But these are not simple images of the flamingos; Judith Sturm breathes personality into the birds and gives them names.
A highlight of the exhibition is undoubtedly the large blue flamingo “Blue Gary”. This surreal bird definitely attracts all eyes with its presence and leaves visitors in awe.
Sturm deliberately polarises by contrasting the depiction of humans and flamingos. While the human figures in her works are faceless to draw the focus to the body, the flamingos, on the other hand, are usually depicted as disembodied. A dynamic is created between the two elements and encourages reflection on identity and the relationship with nature
Galeria HMH – Gallery II: Judith Sturm “La infinidad del ser“ – until 15 October, Tues.-Sat. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., viewing appointments outside opening hours.
https://www.art-gallery-mallorca.com/en/la-infinidad-del-ser/