On Corinne Güdemann’s New Paintings

In Corinne Güdemann’s work A Lady (Anonymous) (2023), a young woman in a meticulously detailed white dress holds a chalice – a symbol of exchange and fertility. Her gaze is slightly averted, and the space behind her is reflected in the painting, making her seem less isolated, as though awaiting an encounter.

In Cranach and I (2023), Güdemann pays tribute to Lucas Cranach’s portrait of Magdeburg theologian Dr. Johannes Scheyring. Here, she introduces room reflections that draw the viewer into the scene, merging the viewer’s space with the artwork. This fusion of spaces and perspectives is typical of Güdemann’s work, blending Renaissance techniques with modern visual effects.

Güdemann, having thoroughly studied portraiture and landscape painting, brings her decades of experience to reposition these genres in a contemporary context. Her works often play with light, reflections, and spatial perspectives, which sometimes overlap and obscure key elements like faces or clothing.

In her landscape paintings, such as Lovely Weather for Ducks (2023), weather takes center stage: rain veils the landscape, with water droplets on the window becoming prominent motifs. The interplay of light and darkness is also explored in Sportplatz (2023), where the city’s evening lights structure the scene.

Since 2012, Güdemann has painted hotel rooms she’s stayed in across Italy and Ireland, always with a view of the outside world. The connection between interior and exterior spaces through windows and mirrors is a recurring theme, with the human observer usually remaining unseen.