In my pictures, I deal with questions of autonomy, power relations and the domination of (female) bodies by focusing on the breaking points of our modern society. In doing so, I address the dreams and expectations we have of our own lives, which are all too often in stark contrast to reality.
What interests me is the tipping point, the moment when everything is still in motion, when it still seems unclear in which direction things are heading. It's like catching a quick glimpse of a distant scene: What is happening here right now? Where is it leading?
My pictures show party scenes that seem colorful and passionate at first glance, but something is wrong here, the romantic impression is deeply disturbed: a tight embrace, a grab on the buttocks, a brief holding.
The transitions between eroticism and violence, between power and powerlessness, desire and fear become blurred.
We see couples who appear to be dancing, but whose touch can also mean being held or pushed away. In addition, other pictures
show shadowy women who are naked or lightly clothed. They walk through the picture without us knowing where they are coming from or where they are going.
The pictures do not show why the women are running, but it is clear that there is no peace, that they cannot rest. In my pictures, women are no longer sitting in front of a romantic backdrop, as in classic art historical subjects, but they are running away - even from the viewer's gaze. Other pictures show men holding a Playstation console and wearing a T-shirt with the inscription "Future Millionaire. What has become of our dreams for the future, what of our expectations of our own lives?
At first glance, my pictures are colorful and cheerful, but a closer look reveals an underlying threat. They are in motion, bubbling, restless, tilting. The only question is: where to? The party is over.

*1988 in Xanten, Germany

Education
2011 - 2019 Studied fine
arts, class for expanded painterly space with Prof. Daniel Richter and Francis Ruyter, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

2013/14 Year abroad at the Akademia Sztuk Pieknych in Krakow, Poland, with Prof. Kinga Nowak

Exhibitions
2023 Group Show, Common Sense Gallery, Vienna
Art Auction 11, Weserhalle, Berlin
Junge Künstler im Dialog, Galerie der Stadt Wendlingen, Wendlingen
Nightrun (Party is over), WasserWasser, Vienna
Playboys, Universitätsbibliothek Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien
Fantastic Figures, BetterGoSouth, Stuttgart
2022
Crime, Sicc.Zine, Vienna

Scholarships
2024 Cité internationale des Arts Paris, federal studio abroad

Portfolio Katja Gürtler >>>

Portrait: kunstdokumentation.com