Cathrin Hoffmann
“In my opinion, the power of a painting can never be achieved by a digital painting. All the senses that suddenly kick in in real life and the physical part of myself which is part of each painting.”
Interview by: Natalia Gonzalez Martin
Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background? Where did you study?
I always wanted to be an artist as a child. But I didn’t have the background or the surroundings to understand how I could achieve that. Instead, I thought I need to study something which would be economically wise more sustainable. So I studied Graphic Design and started working as an Art Director. After some years in this job, I became more and more dissatisfied and had a little personal crisis and went traveling for 8 months with my boyfriend through Latin America. We rented a room for one month in Leon/Nicaragua and I couldn't stop making art. 12 hours or even longer a day. Apparently, the penny had dropped. When I came back I quit working in my old job and started from zero. Although I didn’t earn any money and lived from my savings, I loved it. In the beginning, I have tried out many things like collages, wall paintings, installations, or sculptures and taught myself to paint in oil through YouTube videos.
Your exhibition at Duve was a result of a collaboration between your work and Liam Fallon's, the process of creation for the pieces exhibited was very organic and the communication between the two is evident. After being used to working on your own in the studio, artists sometimes struggle to work as a group, how did you navigate this and what were the biggest challenges?
Working with Liam was not a challenge at all luckily. We found out from the very begging when we talked about rough ideas that we were on the same page. And so it felt very natural to present thoughts or ideas to each other. Due to corona we hadn’t had the chance to meet in the flesh but we messaged or facetimed instead and maybe that was even better. For example, Liam would provide me with an idea he had in the morning via messenger and I could carry his idea with me the whole day and do some researches and would sent him my input back. With this time delay I could put myself even more into his thoughts and vice versa, I think.
Do These People Even Exist
Is This A Lot Of Feelings
I cannot avoid the subject that everyone is talking about, the Corona crisis. The show had to be adapted to fit the digital world as it is the main thing we have access to - how have you dealt with this new modus operandi that the art world has had to adhere to? Do you think this will have repercussion in the way we look at and consume art in the future?
I noticed that our title for the show "Somewhere In Between“ was strangely prophetic. Due to Corona we all had to deal with our new reality – the digital world. Creative minds from all disciplines have created new approaches and fought for art to be preserved for us all. But I believe that this new access is just another gateway. It shouldn't be a replacement or a substitute for traditional ways. But it is only through this crisis that even conservative voices could be convinced of these contemporary means. Which is a positive side effect. I hope that the future will continue in this direction even without Corona and that the analog and digital worlds will cross-fertilize each other.
Tell us a bit about how you spend your day/studio routine? What is your studio like?
When I start a new painting I usually begin with rough sketches. I take some days off from my studio and go outside. I collect impulses from museums, concerts, theater, newspapers, parties, movies, or just randomly everything that is happening around me. In this period, I deal more mentally with the idea of the painting. When I have collected several sketches and ideas I sit down on my computer and start painting digitally with my drawing tablet. When I have composed the paintings I eventually go to my studio and start painting. I like working alone in silence with my music and podcasts. From that point I’ll be in the studio from around 9 am to at least 8pm but often longer. I try to arrange my working day in such a way that I can at least participate a little in social activities. Although I actually prefer to work at night. I did that for a while, but then my rhythm changed and I became socially unbearable and became more and more like Gollum.
His Buttonhole Is So Empty And Empty
The Pretend Double-Check
Your background as a graphic designer has had a clear influence in your work, however, the painterly qualities it offers are evident. How do you blend both worlds and which elements from each are you interested in preserving?
I feel more comfortable with my drawing tablet because I have more practice at it. The study of graphic design and more than 10 years of professional experience have defined my skills, and so I use them. But in the end, I need to start the battle with the analog canvas otherwise my digital artwork would never come alive.
In my opinion, the power of a painting can never be achieved by a digital painting. All the senses that suddenly kick in in real life and the physical part of myself which is part of each painting. This is the key. Seeing and feeling a painting in the flesh can never be replaced by seeing it as a photograph or a printout or on screen. Although I still struggle with the painter skills I always remind myself that without the reproduction in oil my work would only be an empty digital shiny cover. Furthermore, I am attracted by the ambivalence between perfection and imperfection. My digital work is bright, polished and perfect. As soon as I try to reproduce this perfection, I realize that it's impossible. Dirt and hair stick in the paint, transitions are not perfect and brush strokes have left their marks. All this is not visible at first sight but as soon as you get closer to the painting – Reality has left its traces.
The characters presented in the universe you have created are almost human, but also distorted enough to make you question their nature. What sort of imagery do you work from and what is the process for creating these figures?
Well, I try to portrait us. Us humans. I create a likeness to a human figure which is not real of course because I create them digitally and I want them to be close enough to be recognizable as beings but also far enough away so that one can get involved with them through the emotion. And this is exactly where my interest lies. By not showing a clear visual language but still enough bits to hold on, it allows to engage oneself even more with the painting.
A new virtual body with its weaknesses and strangeness. I do not work with any other pictures except for my sketches. When painting digitally, I misuse an effect that adds the illusion of a third dimension only by adding light and shadow. This effect would follow every stroke I am doing and would also simulate carvings when I erase parts of the figure. It’s like painting and sculpting digitally at once.
Who’s Next
Hoffmann with Owner/Director of Duve Berlin, Alexander Duve.
Your titles offer key information to the paintings, they are very bold and direct - How do you go about naming your work?
I title my works at the very end. As soon as it is finished on canvas, I sit in front of it and look at it again. Often new emotions and aspects appear and with these feelings, I would title it. Sometimes I also have collected quotations from books, films, series, etc., which I browse through and compare with the painting. When it clicks, I take it and adapt it, if it doesn’t I go on. This process is always very intuitive.
What artwork have you seen recently that has resonated with you?
Because of Corona, I haven't been able to visit museums or galleries for a while. After the restrictions have been loosed I recently started again. But the last impressively resonating work of art I saw was Kara Walker's fountain at the Tate.
Is there else in the pipeline?
I am already working on my next Solo show in London at Public gallery in October.
All images are courtesy of the artist and Duve Berlin
Date of publication: 02/09/20
