Priska von Martin

Priska von Martin's driving force was to grasp the human condition as an entity

She tried to artistically outline what constitutes human existence, including isolation, dysfunctionality, pain, but also harmony, wholeness and beauty. She captured the essence of human existence in animal figures as well as female bodies and torsos. Her art focussed on the physical, the visibly physical - injury, displacement, displacement - as well as the spiritual, the invisible, the intangible - feelings, instincts, states. Who was Priska von Martin? What hopes did she have in giving her estate to her native city of Freiburg, so far away from her place of work in Munich, in the vague hope that it would (at some point) be recognised in its own right? So if she was counting on this foreign (time-shifted) view, why did she hardly document her work at all? Which parts of her biography did she prefer to leave in the dark? How do we deal with the information about this artist, who is described by most of her companions as a discreet person? To what extent can we conclude from the lack of assessments of political events, social contexts and her environment that she did not engage with any of this?

Exhibitions:
Museum of Contemporary Art/City Museums Freiburg, 4/4 - 13/9/2020
Gerhard-Marcks-Haus Bremen, 12/9/2020 - 21/11/2021