Naab

2014- 2015

The change, the clash of various physical states is something we encounter quite often in Irmers work. In “Naab” elicate veils of mist slowly move across the surface of gently rippling water. Although we cannot observe any change in the sky, the glittering surface of the water tells us that occasional sunbeams are making their way through the clouds. The longer we engulf ourselves in the scenery, the more we lose our sense of concreteness – the idea of something abstract usurps the naturalistic image.

The video installation emits serenity and strengthens the atmospheric mood evoked by it, that becomes the contemplative object. “The image opens to the observer the possibility of unconditional, selfforgetting immersion in an imaginary dreamworld, in the hereafter,” writes Max Imdahl about the large format works of Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko; works that draw the observer into the picture, where the boundaries are dissolved and a new visual space is created. And this is likewise true of Karen Irmer’s work. She enables the observer to experience something intensely spiritual, in which the fluid boundaries of transcendence become perceptible.

»With her three installations, Karen Irmer breaks up the sober and austere form of St Moritz, without harming the contemplative silence of the space. On the contrary, the quiet poetry of her work intensifies the meditative atmosphere in the church. Her subtle interventions create virtual refuges beyond space and time, offering visitors new opportunities for reflection and contemplation. «

Daniela Baumann12.11. 2018