Anne von Freyburg
"My use of textiles is not only a conceptual way to make a statement about craft and its feminine associations, but I also want to reveal its artistic possibilities and material qualities: that all materials are equally important and permissible to make art with."
Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background? Where did you study?
My name is Anne von Freyburg and I was born in Velp the Netherlands.
I currently live in South East London where I came to in 2014 for my Fine Art Master’s degree at Goldsmiths University. Back in The Netherlands I studied Fashion Design from 1979-2001 and that is where my interest and fascination for textile and fashion materials, as well as some ideas and concepts in my current work derive from.
Your work delves into the concept of constructed beauty, particularly in relation to the Rococo portrait and its translation into fashion fabrics. Can you discuss the significance of this reference in the context of our image-obsessed culture and the role of the female gaze within your art?
My work takes a quintessential trope of the ‘beautiful female’ as my starting point: the female drawn from Rococo art by artists such as Fragonard and Boucher. Deconstructing these stereotypes feel like my responsibility as a female artist, but then finding a way to rediscover them through hand working with textiles, through complicated imagery that is made real, physical and intrusive on the viewer. Nowadays, in my opinion, female identity is created through the female gaze. In our modern world, we are overwhelmed by mass media that confront us with ever-changing beauty standards. The objectification of ourselves has evolved, and validation now is often achieved through material means such as fashion and plastic surgery. My work is influenced by the “opulence and candy-sweet colours of the Rococo aesthetic,” which is not only an indulgence in but also a distortion of modern beauty standards. By using a quilting technique, I want to create the impression of Botox or lip fillers. This results in strangely undulating faces and bodies made out of a variety of fast-fashion materials.
Your use of textiles carries both conceptual weight and a focus on material qualities. Could you explain how textiles serve as a means to convey your artistic intentions and explore the possibilities of various materials in your art?
Every fabric has its own story in history and social connotations and can be even used politically. An ornament, fabric or colour can be considered as kitsch in one time period and in another seen as edgy and hip. I am particularly interested in blurring the lines between high and low art, cheap and luxurious, craft and art. For instance, I re-purposed tapestry wall hangings from the 70’s, which I combined with painting technique to evoke a dialogue between painting and tapestry. I choose these Rococo style tapestries for their stereotype ideas of innocence and femininity, which I challenged by adding black BDSM lacquer faux leather to give some kinkiness to all its sweetness. When using a mix of fabrics, like woven tapestry, snake print, lace, fake leather and other fashion fabrics I can also make a link to the present day. With being unapologetic in my use of rich fabrics I am pushing against the accepted norms of fine art, being mindful and critical about fast fashion at the same time. My use of textiles is not only a conceptual way to make a statement about craft and its feminine associations, but I also want to reveal its artistic possibilities and material qualities: that all materials are equally important and permissible to make art with.
Saatchi Gallery. Photo by Reece Straw
Beauty is a Beast (After Boucher), 2022. Photo by Barry Macdonald
Who's Bad (After Fragonard), 2022. Photo by Barry Macdonald
Trickster (After Fragonard), 2022. Photo by Barry Macdonald
Who's Bad (After Fragonard), 2022 (detail) Photo by Barry Macdonald
Untitled (After Boucher). Photo by Reece Straw
Your work explores the intersection of art and material culture. Can you share a particular instance or experience in your life that significantly influenced your decision to explore and celebrate materials in your artistic practice?
When I was doing my BA in fashion between 1997-2001, I felt applied arts were somehow looked down upon by Fine Arts students. As I was interested in fashion as an art form, I originally wanted to challenge that through fashion, but that seemed not the right medium for me to communicate my ideas through. As I noticed that Fashion was not the platform to make art in, I gradually gravitated towards fine art. From there I started to think how to use fashion materials and craft techniques in a conceptual way, not only for crafts sake, but how they can convey meaning by themselves.
What artwork have you seen recently that has resonated with you?
I recently went to Margate to the Turner Contemporary where I had the pleasure to see Beatriz Milhazes solo show. I had already seen her work at White Cube Gallery in London years before, but her work keeps blowing me away by its bold colourful ornamental abstraction.
Tell us a bit about how you spend your day / studio routine? What is your studio like?
My studio is in South London and commuting from where I live takes more or less an hour. In the early morning I mostly do admin things, like writing e-mails, applying for open-calls or write interviews. Since sewing takes up most of my time, which I can do from home on an embroidery frame, I spend 60 per-cent of the time at home, and the other time I work in the studio making the painting and collaging fabrics onto the painted canvas. When I arrive in the studio I immediately start working/collaging the fabrics on my painted canvas. If it’s a new painting, then I first gather all the fabrics that I need for that particular piece, which is mostly picked by colour, texture and print subject. The process of collaging is very intuitive and organic. I pick and choose, pin a piece and maybe later I see a better part and replace it. It is really just try and error.
Collaging with fabric is the part of the process that is most creative and which I love doing the most.
There are also days that I’m working on the computer, scrolling through the Internet to find new Rococo paintings to manipulate in Photoshop.
I use Photoshop filters to change the colours and shape of the ‘old masters’ paintings. Here I create the blueprint, which functions as the reference for the painting. Photoshop is a great tool to try out ideas of colour, shape, and to think about the more formal aspect of the painting.
Is there anything new and exciting in the pipeline you would like to tell us about?
At the moment I am working on my first UK solo show with HOFA Gallery London, which will open on the first of February 2024. Since September last year I have been developing and producing 14 new tapestry paintings, in which I have taken on some new exciting directions. One of them, which I especially made for the show, is a huge textile wall installation of my take on the iconic painting ‘The Swing’ by Fragonard.
All images are courtesy of the artist
Date of publication: 16/10/2023
