Studio Visit Susanne Rottenbacher
Susanne Rottenbacher is a German artist based in Berlin, who works in the media light, color and installation. She was born in Göttingen (central Germany) in 1969 and studied stage design at Columbia University, New York as well as light at London’s Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning. Susanne Rottenbacher designs extensive room installation consisting of sculptural elements that, in their combination with light, can be described as ‘walk-in light paintings.’ Two exhibitions of the artist are currently on display in Berlin: at BOX Freiraum until March 3rd and at Haus am Waldsee @BikiniBerlin until February 10th, 2018.
Miriam met the artist for a studio visit.
MB: How does your day start?
SR: Breakfast with my husband.
MB: Why use light as a medium?
SR: Light influences the atmospheric perception that has the potential to change the subjective space-time-continuum. When using and showing light in this way, this interplay opens up a dialog with the observer that questions the auratic impact through comparison.
MB: Your oeuvre summarized in three sentences:
SR: Extensive room installations consisting of sculptural elements that can best be described as pigments of light and that are characterized by great lightness and transparency. They change in dialogue with their surroundings as well as with the time of day. Keywords: Sculpting with light, weightless space-time-narratives, drawing with light, transitions reminiscent of dancing, musical scores.
MB: Which authors inspire you?
SR: Herman Hesse, Mario Vargas Llosa, Philip Roth
MB: Which exhibitions have you recently seen?
SR: The one that moved me most: Tino Sehgal at Palais de Tokyo in Paris. A friend said very appropriately: “If I was a lonely person, I would go there every day.”
MB: What will we be able to see in your recent exhibitions?
SR: Event spaces consisting of light and color, spatial drawings in the third dimension – in large (Box Freiraum) as well as in small (Haus am Waldsee@Bikini) scale.
MB: What is hanging above your sofa?
SR: Photographs taken by my husband for his new series “Non Plus Ultra.”
MB: What is your favorite place in Berlin?
SR: The Drachenberg (a small rubble mountain in Charlottenburg)
MB: Your place of longing?
SR: Somewhere sunny and warm.
MB: How does your day end? Do you cook yourself or do you eat out?
SR: I cook myself.
MB: Recipe idea?
SR: Quinoa salad with green beans, cucumber, green peppers, lemon juice, olive oil, red onion, and – most importantly – pomegranate seeds.