05/10/2026
UPCOMING EXHIBITION
Emde Gallery is pleased to announce Katja von Puttkamer’s first solo exhibition, “hier“, at the gallery.
The title initially appears remarkably simple. In German, “hier“ means “here”, referring to the immediate place, one’s own position. At the same time, the word opens up a second meaning: in French, “hier“ means “yesterday”. In a single word, place and time, present and past come together.
The exhibition brings together two groups of works: new gouaches created in Mainz and selected paintings based on the artist’s stay in Dijon in autumn 2019. Both are connected by von Puttkamer’s engagement with the built environment and the question of how our perception of the city changes through the painterly gaze.
The Dijon works centre on the city’s historic market hall. Visiting on a non-market day, von Puttkamer found the usually bustling stalls concealed beneath heavy blankets and cloths. In her paintings, these familiar structures are transformed into a landscape of abstract forms and veiled bodies. A planned return to observe the market in full operation was prevented by the COVID-19 pandemic. In retrospect, the stillness she had encountered by chance took on a new significance.
The Dijon paintings are juxtaposed with small-format gouaches from Mainz, focusing on fragments of building façades and architectural details. Removed from their functional context and set in coloured mounts, forms and colour combinations emerge that often go unnoticed in passing.
In this way, the exhibition brings together observations from two different cities, times and realms of experience. Through the painterly gaze, our perception of the city shifts: familiar structures emerge in a new light, seemingly incidental details gain presence, and the present carries traces of the past. The “here” of the exhibition thus always carries a “yesterday” within it.
Opening: Fri, 16 Oct, 6-8:30 pm
Exhibition: 17 Oct – 28 Nov 2026
Finissage: Sat, 28 Nov, 12-4 pm with an Artist Talk at 3 pm: Katja von Puttkamer in conversation with Dr. Gabriele Rasch, art historian and co-curator of the exhibition.
