soft island hard edge

Charlene Hahne in conversation with Lisa Seebach Curated by Katharina Wendler Zoom, April 21, 2023 [...] Katharina: For me this project was also special from a curatorial point of view, because it was never about simply taking works from your two studios and installing them side by side, but because we all said from the beginning: If we do this, then it should combine into something new on site (without merging, I still find that important, that it is still recognizable that there are two different positions). The focus is on the connection of the two-dimensional with the three-dimensional and your shared interest in drawing and landscape (two absurdly broad terms in art, which can nevertheless be applied here). The exhibition title - soft island hard edge - also takes some aspects of these terms into consideration, the island, the edge, the supposed contrast of soft and hard. What do you associate with this title, also in relation to your work? Lisa: I always associate "soft" first and foremost with materiality. In my work, for example, in the form of hand imprints in the clay or of bent material. In Charlene's work, it is expressed in the billowing, cloudy surfaces, where areas of the image become blurred. But I also find "soft" systems that develop (further) from circumstances, such as the situation in the exhibition space of Salon at Moritzplatz, where we first have to see on site what we do with the situation, where there is no fixed setting. For me it has to do with approach and change, there is room for maneuver. My first association with "hard" was the clean lines in my sculptures, especially in steel, but the longer I think about it, the "softer" they actually become. In the end they are totally imperfect, curved lines full of unevenness, same with Charlene's lines: The closer you zoom in, the softer they get. Katharina: That's a nice phenomenon anyway, that supposedly clear lines, dots, etc. fray out if you just get close enough. Lisa: Exactly. "Island" for me is the inner mental space where works can emerge and make sense, where they open up. "Edge" describes an outline, a contour. Katharina: What are your associations with the terms, Charlene? Charlene: "Soft" to me is the canvas, the unprimed fabric; soft, raw and vulnerable. That's how I prefer to use it. From the begin-ning, the "island" was the moment where our works meet in space. The exhibition. We are the island! And that brings us right to the "edge", the edge to the outside space. This separation of inside and outside is essential, the works are so unique and meet in this unique constellation in a limited (time) space, which definitely results in a special situation that functions for me like an island. Katharina: The island is also a recurring theme in your work, at least there are quite a few paintings that have "island" in the title. Charlene: Yes exactly, but mainly because they were created in 2019 during my residency on Fogo Island. Katharina: One of the reasons I suggested the title is that, for me, it combines exactly these aspects of your work: the island as a mental space, but also as a metaphor for a physical state that is accessible for a short time and then becomes inaccessi-ble again. The whole Gallery Weekend is basically also like an island that is washed over once a year by mass tourism aka art people. Charlene: By the way, "island" also made me think of my studio, where I can retreat and which is essential for what is ultimately shown in the exhibition space. There I am always isolated; it also needs this retreat and concentration on what can only happen there. [...] Excerpt from: Charlene Hahne in conversation with Lisa Seebach Full text at www.in-conversation-with.com