Dorthe Goeden – Artist in Residence
The basic element of Dorthe Goeden’s work is the line. Whether drawn or cut, for her the line signifies a distinction that creates a form. This concept is grounded on the idea that the form thus created always consists of two relating parts: namely, the one that is positively there and the one that is not. Thus, paper cuts investigate the relation between what is present and what is absent. By playing with form and emptiness, surface and space, light and shadow, the two-dimensionality of a drawing is overcome and the filigree works take on the physicality of a sculpture.
The focus is on the process of remembering and processing visual impressions. Dorthe Goeden is interested in the everyday, the ephemeral and the incidental as well as in relations between naturally emerging and culturally developed structures. In quick drawings, she first captures fragments of her immediate surroundings, reduces patterns, shadows, forms, entire architectures to a few lines and detaches individual fragments from images. From these lines she starts a new construction: In a process of expansion, rearrangement and repetition, she works her way forward line by line, layer by layer. The works rely on precise craftsmanship and recurring processes. They often test the limits of material and technique, and navigate a realm of tension between chaotic or uncontrollable elements and ordered structures. Concerning repetition, her interest is in the opportunities generated by even minuscule deviations and their reflection.
During her residency at Atelierhaus Salzamt, she first created a series of gouache and ink artworks as well as paper cuts that directly relate to the new working situation, the space, the view of the river and the first impressions that shaped her perception of the place.
At the same time, she began to explore Linz and to deal with individual aspects of the city’s history. She extracted collected fragments for her work, reduced them, and transferred them into linear structures. She takes these impressions and a concept for transforming the fragments into a spatial work with her from Linz to Düsseldorf. She prepared the files for the production of a work in sheet steel complementing the series of works described above and dealt with various surface textures.
