Anja Dallenbach

Anja Dallenbach is Swiss and lives in Meggen in the canton of Lucerne. Together with Vestara Psod and Artemis Irenäus von Baste, she belongs to a generation of artists whose plastic expression is resolutely turned towards oil painting on canvas in extremely free compositions. At a time when some art critics and conceptual art movements proclaimed the “death” of painting, Anja Dallenbach, like her two Swiss colleagues, proves the opposite.

Between the legacy of abstraction and figuration, our artist rehabilitates the act of painting in all its spontaneity, in a powerful return to matter, to colour, to the roots of artistic expression: the painterly gesture. This gesture takes place in a genuine rediscovery of oil painting on canvas, which is no longer perceived as a rigid form of representation, but as a dynamic, living space capable of reflecting the complexity of our times.

In this way, Anja’s sculptural work is not only a response to a time when it was believed that everything had already been said, but an invitation to rethink what it means to be an artist today.

 

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The act of resistance: oil painting!

The “death of painting”, a short-lived idea launched in the 1970s by followers of conceptual art and video art, paradoxically resulted in a break. However, the works of Dallenbach and her fellow artists prove that painting is far from dead. On the contrary, it is experiencing a revitalising upswing in the world of contemporary art. With her approach, which harnesses the energy of lyrical abstraction and the fluidity of organic forms, she is turning the canvas back into an inexhaustible field of experimentation.

In her compositions, in which colours swirl and overlap with obvious sensuality, Dallenbach expresses a visual dynamism that seeks to be an affirmation of life, the body and human emotions. She invites us to rediscover the richness of the visual arts, both as a tactile medium and as a place of pure expression. This approach reconciles the past and the present, the heritage of classical painting and the explosion of modern forms.

“It is not about figurative or abstract art, but about attempting to paint the exact moment when one is no longer aware of one’s own limitations.” – Anja Dallenbach

 

Oil painting and freedom?

I have visited numerous art galleries and tried my hand at group exhibitions without success.
I have listened to many scholars who eagerly tried to explain to me that art is this and not that. I disagreed with all these people. No, I will not bow to your view of oil painting; no, you will not dictate to me what I should paint. I have read many books, including books on oil painting techniques. Unlike scholars, books have the advantage of never trying to convince you of anything.

And then, on the sidelines of an exhibition, I met Artemis Irenäus and Philippe at the Kunsthaus Zurich, who showed people that a work of art is an exchange between the sensitivity of an artist and that of the audience. I thought that was great. We had dinner with Vestara Psod at their place, and I joined the group. »
Anja Dallenbach

 

The dance of the elements?

Anja’s work is a celebration of movement, much like American Action Painting. Under her brush or knife, bodies fly away in ‘Chroniques Aériennes’ (Aerial Chronicles) or abandon themselves to ‘Ivresse du Soir’ (Evening Intoxication). Her view of nature, through ‘La Richesse Inavouée des Saisons’ (The Unspoken Richness of the Seasons), reveals a rare sensitivity to the cycles of life and the whispers of invisible gardens.

Exhibited in our France-Switzerland Gallery, Anja Dallenbach has established herself as a major voice in contemporary expressionism, offering the viewer an immersive experience where every stroke of paint is a vibration, every canvas a breath of life.

Natascha

Anja Dallenbach est une artiste qui pratique la peinture à l’huile sur toiles. Elle est originaire de Suisse, dans le canton de Lucerne. Elle est ici dans son atelier devant une de ses œuvres.

Anja Dallenbach in her studio.

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