Schwarze Wanderung / Roaming through the Dark

Contemplating the paintings of Christa Näher (b. Lindau, 1947; livesand works in Wolfegg, Baden-Württemberg), the beholder senses heradmiration for the great artists of the Baroque, the paintings of theDutch and Spanish masters. Legendary landscapes, outlandishhybrid creatures, centaurs, danses macabres, lords in their castlesand stable boys: these are the subjects of her sprawling paintings andsmall-format drawings. There is an otherworldly air to Näher's oeuvre;her deeply moving works confront us with who we really are. Soaringflights of fancy, the artist's multifaceted, delicate, and enigmaticcompositions also plumb the collective consciousness of our time.

Näher's oeuvre has now earned her the 2019 Hans-Thoma-Prize,awarded by the State of Baden-Württemberg in recognition of thelifetime achievements of a visual artist who predominantly lives andworks in Baden-Württemberg. To celebrate the honor, the StaatlicheKunsthalle Baden-Baden is organizing a presentation of her worksthat will be on view at the Hans-Thoma-Kunstmuseum in the BlackForest town of Bernau im Schwarzwald. The accompanying monographprobes the complexities of Näher's oeuvre and features worksfrom the past four decades as well as personal notes, documents,and photographs. With essays by Johannes Honeck, EgbertHörmann, and Petra Olschowski.