Pick a Mood

Curatorial Statement In her first solo exhibition Pick a Mood, the work of artist Leonie Specht is dedicated to the desire for a self-determined emotional world and the loss of control due to external circumstances that conflicts with this. In Specht‘s works, everyday subjects are abstracted and put to the test. Explicit criticism is not the aim – rather, it is to sensitize and subtly comment on the phenomenon of self-optimisation. In keeping with the etymological meaning of persona (individual, living being, chosen character), those depicted wear a mask - sometimes more, sometimes less obviously. Specht thereby brings the concealed emotions to the surface in her works and thus questions the meaning of the veiling in the Theatrum mundi. In ‚Attachment‘, the artist gives us an insight into the unmasked creative process. Sketches and unfinished preliminary works from her studio are presented in a box. Visitors are invited to rummage around and experience the fragile materiality of her drawings haptically, imitating the experience at a flea market. In doing so, they are given the opportunity to actively influence the lifespan of the work. by Matteo Kramer