Rubica von Streng graduated from Berlin’s University of Arts UdK as a masterclass student in 2018. Her works, such as the paintings of the monumental “PortLand” cycle, have found a place in highly recognized art collections in Germany and abroad. They often deal with the beauty of nature, biodiversity and the future of civilization.
Abstract portrait and landscape painting enter an exciting liaison in her oeuvre. Her multi-layered, aesthetically composed oil paintings appear watercolor-like and radiate an unexpected lightness, however heavy and complex the subjects. The artist achieves this balancing act by means of her self-developed so-called arpeggio painting technique: wafer-thin layers of highly diluted oil paint are applied one after the other, creating a powerful ensemble of overlapping color spaces and forms that interact with fragments of varying shapes. “Von Streng’s works are profoundly intelligent, well-founded and responsible,” says René Spiegelberger, CEO of Hamburg-based Spiegelberger Foundation. “They open a new chapter in abstraction. Her way of dealing with highly topical themes manifests itself in an impressively stringent manner”.
High Land Scapes
The topography of the Scottish Highlands and its barren landscapes, characterized by rough mountains, lush valleys and deep lochs, served Rubica von Streng as an inspiration for a six-part series of works on paper, created in 2022. Following in the footsteps of her ancestors, who lived in Scotland some 700 years ago and originally came from Viking lands, the artist visited the region and explored the nature in the north of the country. Its shapes and colors are somewhat reminiscent of Martian landscapes, which are ref- lected in the works as abstract fragments, redu- ced to their contours and shapes. As material for the series, von Streng used handmade, multiple primed Khadi paper and oil paint applied in ultra-thin layers. The complete series will be shown in the exhibition “Mu – Wege zur Schlichtheit” at Museum Schloss Mitsuko, May 11 – June 13, 2024.
