CAROLINE KROPFF: 'FATA MORGANA'
April 5 - May 3 2010

CAROLIN KROPFF – ARTIST’S STATEMENT Driving past these theatrical 3D constructions in a plain desert environment, I was enthralled by their chameleon-like appearance as the facades incessantly altered with the change of position, light and time.  Under my mobile gaze, the simple industrialized illusions of the billboards faded beyond recognition, yet remained as monumental landmarks, as promises of fortune and pleasure of a future world. Both the construction and deconstruction presented a surreal quality, an uneasy icon. In my work I follow that path to dissolve the visual world and meticulously put it back together with clusters of pigments, exploring the wide world of representation.  Carolin Kropff, 2009

There have been a number of artists who have worked with the ‘Dubai phenomena’, yet Kropff’s skill and passion adds a particular depth to the subject which stems from a personal level having lived in the city for four years and experiencing it’s tremendous growths. The curator, Larissa Kolesnikova, was inspired by Kropff’s love for painting and dedication towards Dubai’s architectural dreams and astounding growth. This exhibition highlights sections of the city’s groundbreaking development and the attempt to create a metropolis from a mirage. 

Kropff, who draws inspiration from Titian, creates magnificent surfaces that reflect and filter light. Her skilled perception and use of pigment produce canvases that are grand, breathtaking, calm and overwhelming at the same time. Her large works – where zooming in the image often creates a sensation of nearly abstract work – are filled with emotion and captivating depth, while smaller works – where perspective is used to sober the mind and provide a chance to reflect on the object – are detailed and laconic. This change of rhythm and interest brings out the texture of a dream one is experiencing. A mirage that is constantly changing – from compressed to stretched, from vertical to flat. Fata Morgana: A captured dream, a dream of Dubai. 

Larissa Kolesnikova, 2010 

About the Artist: 

Carolin Kropff is a graduate of Fine Arts from the most prestigious art schools in Germany, Dusseldorfer Kunstakademie and Staedelschule Frankfurt am Main. Kropff uses her skill in painting to achieve certain new qualities in this medium that set her work apart and give her that unforgettable and special quality which transports the viewer away and back to reality through her art. She has exhibited at Stadtmuseum Beckum, Ostwallmuseum, Kunsthaus am Tierpark, Dortmund, Portikus Auswärts Kunstraum Dismal Lutherstraße, Milchsackfabrik, Projektraum im Atelierfrankfurt, Frankfurt/M, Germany, Courtyard Gallery and Tashkeel Dubai, UAE. Kropff currently lives and works in Dubai, UAE. 

About the Curator: 

Larissa Kolensikova is an independent curator and a founder of Perceptions Fine Art Consulting. She lives and works in Dubai, UAE and has been active as an art advisor since 2006 focusing mainly on private collections. Her particular interest lies in art patronage and assisting art collectors towards becoming true art patrons for the benefit of the UAE’s cultural development and of the region as a whole.