Kontaktflächen // Paulina Hoffmann

In the organizer's words:

With the exhibition "Contact Surfaces", Paulina Hoffmann confronts us with a deeply human need: the desire to categorize, name and give meaning to situations, experiences and things seen, which are usually linked to utility. However, her works defy precisely this logic. Although zippers, straps and bag fittings seem to give the viewer a direction, it quickly becomes apparent that the expectations placed on the form cannot be fulfilled. Although we want to see a bag, we notice that the proportions and dimensions distort our predicted image. These incidental traces of functionality create a tension between the notion of utility object and art object, which is not resolved but playfully put up for discussion.

Individual areas of PVC tarpaulin are folded, turned inside out and sewn together to form objects on the wall and in the room. Seams become lines, folds become patterns, so that these elements can also be viewed detached from their original context and less as a means to an end. Hoffmann embarks on a processual work in which an interplay of action and reaction determines the path. The development and subsequent repetition of precise sequences, as well as the perfection of hand movements and methods, form the basis for the combination of control and intuition.

Paulina Hoffmann unites seemingly contradictory elements in her work, establishes connections where previously there were dividing lines and creates structures that lead to a new aesthetic and intellectual effectiveness. Industrially manufactured semi-finished products - materials that stand for function and anonymity - meet manual work and the artist's creative intervention, which has always stood up to a world geared towards efficiency and challenges us to train our eye for the unexpected.