Mother Earth

Denise Rudolf Frank’s work is characterised by intense self-reflection and engagement with emotional and societal themes, deeply rooted in her personal history with art therapy. Her images emerge from a spontaneous, physical act, where she applies paint directly on a horizontally placed canvas. Using thick layers applied with her hands, or bottles, she expresses her inner emotions, creating a balance between abstraction and figuration.

The drying time of her works, which can sometimes last over a year, gives her space to observe what has emerged and make targeted revisions. This phase imbues the works with a dynamic quality, intensifying the interplay between immediate expression and a deeper engagement with the themes that occupy her mind. The creative process, thus, allows her to reflect on personal experiences.

Firestorm Foundation acquired Mother Earth at Frank’s 2023 exhibition Jenise & Dordy at CFHILL, Stockholm. In connection with the exhibition, Frank gave the following description (‘Denise Rudolf Frank. Jenise & Dordy. Interview’, February 24, 2023) of her work methods:

For me, it’s not important what the painting is going to be, but it’s more the way of getting to the painting. It’s a very releasing process. I have very intense dreams every night, I can remember at least 5 or 6 dreams. They are mostly nightmares, but I’m so used to it, so the nightmares aren’t that bad. […] In the morning, it’s very hard to think about something else because it’s so present. I mostly start painting in the morning, because I want to release everything and get rid of all my thoughts and doubts through the painting. My painting process starts with putting the empty canvas on the floor, and then I feel what I’m feeling, and I never know what it’s going to be. During the process, I sometimes see an animal, or a figure, or I’ll attract things, or a landscape, and I try to bring it out. The first part with acrylic paint alone takes 3-4 days to dry enough to hang the canvas on the wall, after that comes one of the most interesting parts. Then I can see what’s really happening myself. Art therapy tries to see something in your subconscious. Dreaming, like very quick painting, is the only way to get your subconscious consciousness. I had very traumatic experiences in my childhood, and I know the sadness and the anger are still in me. I am sensitive to all my surroundings, like climate change or critique. I hear it and it’s stuck in me. I think the trauma in my brain is scared to miss any danger, so I need the very intense dreaming and painting to release all these feelings.

Like most of her other work, Mother Earth (whose title clearly relates the painting to the fear of climate change mentioned by Frank in the interview above) is characterised by Frank’s, almost excessively, vibrant palette. This was, as pointed out by Frank in the aforementioned interview, however, not always the case. ‘Actually, no. I started with only black and white. I think it’s getting brighter. I thought at some point it couldn’t get more colourful, but it is. […] The challenge is to make something very overwhelming but not too overwhelming. It’s still working only because it makes me happy.’ Frank’s remarkable use of stark and radiant pigments was, eloquently, touched upon by Pablo’s Birthday Gallery, New York, in connection with Frank’s exhibition Grounding, some six months after Firestorm Foundation acquired Mother Earth:

bright colors, with an excess of paint and vibrancy, and the thickness of the impasto technique are testament to her inner emotions. Frank loads her work with energy by applying her paint directly onto the canvas with her hands. Like an explosion, the chaos of color and charged physicality in her work is ground for emotionality for the viewer and their experiences. Strangely toeing the line between abstraction and figuration, Frank’s colorful compositions reflect fantastical explorations of inner emotional dialogue fed by the inner workings of her own mind and body. […] Frank’s paintings combine imaginary colors and figures as an introspective translation of her state of mind. While she sees her practice as a personal outlet– combining imaginary colors and figures as a way of interpreting innermost emotions and working through feelings and sensations– she also asks viewers to participate in her work. Rather than understanding Frank’s work, it should be felt. The vibrancy and intensity of Frank’s paintings are meant to encourage reflection, both externally and internally for the viewer.

Provenance

CFHILL, Stockholm, Jenise & Dordy, 24 February-24 March 2023.

Firestorm Foundation (acquired at the above).

Copyright Firestorm Foundation