During the Monaco Art Week from 2nd to 7th July, Moretti Fine Art in collaboration with Julian Solms showcases the exhibition And There Was Light featuring works by the artist Ingeborg zu Schleswig-Holstein, in dialogue with classical masterpieces.
Moretti Fine Art is delighted to announce the exhibition Ingeborg zu Schleswig-Holstein: And There Was Light, which will run from 3rd to 26th July 2024 at the gallery’s Monaco venue. A unique dialogue is proposed between Ingeborg zu Schleswig-Holstein’s incandescent, chromatically charged abstract compositions and the gold ground works of the masters Simone dei Crocifissi, Barnaba da Modena, and Arrigo di Niccolò. Separated by time and place and practice yet allied through a shared concern with, and invocation of, the ineffable, these paintings establish a surprising and remarkable resonance with each other.
The works of Ingeborg zu Schleswig-Holstein in this exhibition have no explicit representational content or reference points outside of themselves, eschewing traditional allegorical strategies as pathways to transcendence. Instead of representing metaphysical concepts descriptively these paintings may instead be read as enactments of such notions - lyrical reachings - out beyond the constrained experiential possibilities of the everyday. Here, the explosion of colour on canvas literally is the act of creation: the light that came into darkness. The thrust of the brushstroke literally is the speed of time and transience of existence.
In traditional abstract painting ‘meshing’ brushstrokes typically create spatial disorientation. However, Ingeborg uses this technique to delineate the intersection of time and eternity, assigning temporal values to colours - faster speeds for warm colours like orange and red, and slower ones for cool colours like blue. This approach is evident in her altarpiece at the Chapel of the Hospital zum Heiligen Geist in Hamburg, where the gilded wood cross represents transient human life, while the stone at the cross’s centre is associated with eternal, metaphysical reality.
Ingeborg Princess zu Schleswig-Holstein, born on 9th July 1956 in Bienebeck near Kiel, Germany, is a distinguished artist renowned for her ethereal, object-free style. Influenced by the expansive landscapes of her upbringing, she pursued art at the Fachhochschule für Gestaltung in Hamburg, studying under Professor Manfried Grossmann. Her artistic journey gained momentum in New York, where she worked as an assistant to Andy Warhol and established her first studio in SoHo. Her work, characterised by its exploration of transcendence and the metaphysical, was first exhibited at the Institute for Art and Urban Resources PS1 in 1983. In 1984, she embarked on her seminal project, “Weg ins Licht” (Path into Light), for Hamburg’s Sankt Katharinen church. This installation, which consisted of 24 panel paintings and 12 rosettes, represented her profound reflection on the journey from darkness to light. This project inspired the Polish composer Augustyn Bloch, which resulted in the oratorio “Denn Dein Licht kommt” (And Your Light Cometh), premiering in 1988 and earning acclaim in both Hamburg and Warsaw. This partnership continued with the requiem “Du sollst nicht töten” (Thou Shalt Not Kill), a poignant meditation on the Holy Cross, showcased in Lübeck’s Sankt Petri church in 1992. Ingeborg’s profound installations, such as the “Raum der Stille” (Room of Silence) presented at Hamburg’s Mediale in 1993, invite viewers to introspection and spiritual contemplation. Her works often explore themes of life, death, and resurrection, as seen in the large-scale triptych “Empor” (Upwards) and the colour-intensive project “Blaue Blume” (Blue Flower). Other notable commissions include the 1999 refurbishment of Hamburg’s oldest old people’s home and the 1997 collaboration with Bloch for Gdansk’s 1000th anniversary. In 2001, she began designing stage sets, notably collaborating with Robert Wilson at the Watermill Center.
Ingeborg zu Schleswig-Holstein’s oeuvre is a testament to her quest for comprehending what cannot be captured in words. This exhibition, by juxtaposing her works with gold ground panels such as Saint Catherine of Alexandria (Barnaba da Modena) – of which the eponymous Saint is patron of artists and women - highlights the themes of creation and transcendence central to the artist’s works. It reflects a shared ambition to transcend the material and provide a glimpse of the eternal. Joan Mitchell once described what she was looking for in painting as ‘the feeling in a line of poetry which makes it different from a line of prose’. It is in this gap between prose and poetry, between the phenomenal and the noumenal, that the magic of this dialogue unfolds.
A part of the proceeds of this exhibition will be donated to AMADE worldwide association under the patronage of H.R.H. The Princess of Hanover.
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday, from 10am to 6pm
Saturday 6 & Sunday 7, July from 10am to 6pm
