At Landestrost Castle, Kerstin Henschel shows paintings on canvas and painted- over photographs. Both were combined to reveal the close relationship between the completely different working methods. Two thirds of the pictures on display date from 2018 and thus document the latest state of development. They emerged from the continuation of a very consistent artistic path. Despite all the changes and further development that have taken place over the years, Kerstin Henschel‘s art has remained unmistakable. Light – which manifests itself in different appearances depending on the application of colour –, abstraction and composition determine her works. Her paintings grow in a lengthy process of superimposing acrylic paints which is controlled by intuition and ratio alike. The works quite matter-of-factly called „structural paths“ are the result of a work process lasting several years. At first glance they seem very decorative, but in reality they are conglomerates of various sensations, impressions and observations. These form visual narrative strands that overlap and combine to create an abstract sensory impression of the world. Under the title „Horizons“ Kerstin Henschel summarizes a group of works in which translucent layers of highly diluted acrylic paint are applied on top of each other. This creates liveliness and depth and at the same time an almost meditative calm. Horizontal lines of different widths and lengths structure and hold the pictorial space in the most economical way and, despite the complete renouncement of representationalism, create notions of landscapes. Although light and atmosphere of places that have influenced Kerstin Henschel can be felt here, they are completely free from any attempt to imitate nature. The seemingly surreal landscapes, also called „Horizons“ but based on the artist‘s private photographs, live from the interplay between reality, abstraction and imagination. Kerstin Henschel removes colour from the surface in fine dashes, creating drawings superimposed on the photograph that seem to shine from within. The term „horizons“ could therefore also be understood programmatically: as a transcending of the visible, as a transition from the known to the unknown.weiterlesen