FROM EGG TEMPERA TO CHALK AND OIL PAINT, JANAINA TSCHÄPE HAS MASTERED A STYLE OF PAINTING THAT COMBINES NORDIC DEPTH WITH SUPPLE, AIRBORNE LINE DANCING. THE AUTHOR DORIS VON DRATHEN, AN ART HISTORIAN SPECIALIZING IN ABY WARBURG’S ICONOLOGY, IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED THE HAMBURG SCHOOL IN THE GERMAN-BRAZILIAN-AMERICAN ARTIST. THUS BEGAN A FRIENDSHIP AND AN INEXHAUSTIBLE DIALOGUE ABOUT ART.
THE BOOK IS STRUCTURED IN TWO PARTS. IT OPENS WITH A STUDIO CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE ARTIST AND ART HISTORIAN DORIS VON DRATHEN, IN WHICH TSCHÄPE REFLECTS ON THE EMOTIONAL AND MATERIAL DIMENSIONS OF HER PROCESS — FROM HER FEAR OF THE BLANK CANVAS TO THE AUDACITY OF OIL PAINT AND THE COURAGE IT TAKES TO TRUST ONE’S OWN HAND.
IN THE SECOND PART, VON DRATHEN OFFERS A CONTEMPLATIVE ESSAY THAT FORGOES ACADEMIC CATEGORIZATION IN FAVOR OF LASE VISUAL ANALYSIS — ENGAING WITH EACH PAINTING INDIVIDUALLY AND UNFOLDING TSCHÄPE’S UNIQUE VISION OF NATURE, FORM, AND ABSTRACTION.
THIS BILINGUAL EDITION (ENGLISH/GERMAN) OFFERS AN IN-DEPTH JOURNEY THROUGH TSCHÄPE’S RICH VISUAL UNIVERSE — FEATURING 160 PAGES SPANNING HER WORK IN PAINTING, PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEO, AND INSTALLATION.