Redefining painting: Katharina Grosse

From her very first painting to her first large-scale mural, watch the artist discuss how her practice expanded beyond the traditional canvas.

“What happens when paintings are questioned and what happens if they start to expand?” Andrea Lissoni, Artistic Director of the Haus der Kunst in Munich where the talk was held, neatly captures the overarching topic of this insightful Artist Talk.

In conversation with Hans Ulrich-Obrist, Artistic Director of The Serpentine, UBS Art Collection artist Katharina Grosse begins by exploring her first experience of visual art. With her family already involved with literature and performance, and her Mother a printmaker, it was natural for her to explore her creativity. But “for someone who only reads and goes to the theater, this very first contact with painting was a real world-opener,” she says.

After spending much time abroad, and studying under artists such as Gerard Richter, “I came back with the desire that painting should have a zone other than just the portable canvas” and her desire to redefine the medium of painting was born.

Now an established artist known for her in-situ paintings, exploding color across architecture and landscape, Grosse also explores how she went on to experiment with other materials such as textiles and how this inspired her to “recycle” and “adapt” her works around the world.

A series of Katharina Grosse’s early works from the 1960s, which give an overview of her experimentation with materials such as textiles and spray paint, are featured in the UBS Art Collection.

Artist Talks is a series co-presented by UBS and Fondation Beyeler, offering direct access and unique insight into the work of today's most influential artists such as Hiroshi Sugimoto, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and Olafur Eliasson.