Kamilla Bischof

Kamilla Bischoff’s oeuvres prove not only her passion for story-telling, fabulation and auto-fiction, but also her enthusiasm for restaging situations which oscillate between reality and fabrication, as well as between cheerfulness and distress. Often, figure and ground seem to be in a constant process of circulation and transformation, resulting in an intangible mise-en-scène. In Lambretta, a larger-than-life orange croissant lies on two pink sausages, but somehow adapts perfectly to the painting’s landscape, so that the absurdity of proportions remains unnoticed at first glance. Beneath the croissant and sausages, different shades of blue might appear as an anthropomorphized stretch of water, since a face is sketched on its surface – or is it a ghost-like figure? The otherworldliness of the scenery is emphasized by the painting’s color-scheme: yellow-ish, pink-ish mountains and a rose sky against a background of electrical towers; a half-naked female character on a pink scooter, with what appears to be a veiled hat on her head sketched in pink, red, orange and violet. Working primarily with oils, Bischof brings a sketchy, haptic texture to the canvas by applying a spray. Although the images are often populated by strong female personalities, Bischoff’s paintings are nevertheless woven with melancholic and dystopic undertones, reflecting the challenges of our current times.

Lambretta, 2020
Oil and spray paint on canvas
150 × 100 cm
Courtesy Meyer*Kainer, Vienna