Fiche d'artisteArtist file


Barbara Wolff * 1951 in Berlin, lives in Berlin

A consistent element in the work of Barbara Wolff is the wayshe records the biographical aspects and key points ofher life in East and West Germany. She has produced works of photography infused with meaning that[...]

A consistent element in the work of Barbara Wolff is the wayshe records the biographical aspects and key points ofher life in East and West Germany. She has produced works of photography infused with meaning thatdraw the viewer into her individual world of experience. At the same time, Wolff manages to mediate a sense of abstraction and universal experience within her personal and subjective approach. She creates photographic statements that have an overarching validity and are moving in their ability to reveal truths about humankind. Infused with meaning, her images create a rapport and communicative exchange between the artist’s realm of experience and that of the viewer. These works go beyond the documentation of an actual, objective reality. Capturing truly decisive moments, Wolff is able to portray her subject matter with sensitivity. The high photographic quality of her balanced compositions injects her works with additional levels of meaning. The result are images of a suprareal, magical world. Her artistic vocabulary, which we would situate in the realm of Magical Realism, has a highly humanistic component. Many of her images show people in their immediate and uncompromising integrity, poised between fragility and strength. Wolff‘s work—and the range of cameras that she uses, from small- to large-format devicesis diverse both in subject matter and technique. Nevertheless, her personal signature is always evident, and her determination to pursue themes in her own, unmistakable way is always palpable.

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