Petra Kleinherne occupies the realm between abstract figuration and abstract expressionism. While the emotive language of colour is evident, the creation of landscapes and scenes is also key: evoking fragments of ideas, flickers of thought or distant memories. These gestures are transcribed onto canvas in a type of shorthand.
There is no preconceived outcome in mind, rather the finished painting is the result of an ongoing and intuitive dialogue between artist and canvas which revels in the unpredictable; experiments in the serendipity of unbridled creativity. Using a process-driven approach, the movement of the brush, different brushes, a squeegee, a sponge, rags or a palette knife conspire to reveal surprising marks, formations, lines, scribbles and dots. Shapes and forms are spontaneous depending on how the brush flows; how thick paint, thin paint, colour and form interact.
The confluence of various places and experiences are unconsciously reflected in the work: a building may appear; a figure; a fence; a walkway. The balanced, yet dynamic compositions similarly draw on a variety of artistic influences: the abstraction of form of German Expressionism; the spontaneity of gesture and lack of preconceived ideas of Art Informel; the vivid colours of Neo Expressionism.
Just as the process is inspired by the unexpected interaction of colour and form and the alchemy of oil paint, a rich patchwork of experiences, ideas, influences and approaches coalesce to offer a new and unique perspective.
Petra Kleinherne
Petra Kleinherne came to Australia from Germany in 1981 and lives and works in Melbourne. She studied painting privately, then Visual Arts at Victoria University and has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Painting from Monash University. Petra has shown in solo and group shows in Australia and Europe and did a residency with Art Circle Residence in Germany and Croatia in April 2019. Her works are held in private collections in Australia, Germany, France and the United States.
Education
2010
BFA Painting, Monash University, Melbourne
2006
Visual Arts – Painting & Drawing, Victoria University, Melbourne
1998
International Summer Academy for Visual Arts Salzburg, Austria
Solo Exhibitions
2022
Transformations, Jacob Hoerner Galleries, Melbourne
2021
Farbräume, Jacob Hoerner Galleries, Melbourne
2020
Wanderer, Jacob Hoerner Galleries, Melbourne (Online Viewing Room)
2017
Maze, Chapman & Bailey, Melbourne
2014/15
Crowded Space, Goethe-Institut, Melbourne
2013
Imagined Landscapes / Lost Figures, Chapman & Bailey, Melbourne
2010
Work in Progress, Monash University, Caulfield, Melbourne
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022
Selected Artists, Jacob Hoerner Galleries, Melbourne
Gallery 550, Group Show, Melbourne
2021
Click Click, Jacob Hoerner Galleries, Melbourne
2020
Landscapes, October 2020, Gallery Elysium, Hawthorn, Melbourne
From Life, 3rd - 12th February, Drawings and paintings, Gallery Elysium, Hawthorn, Melbourne
Works from the Stockroom, Eastgate Gallery, Melbourne
Sydney Explore, Sydney Contemporary, Online Viewing Room
Finale 2020, Jacob Hoerner Galleries, Online Viewing Room
2019
Finale 2019 – Fin de la Decennie, Collingwood, Melbourne
Almost Summer, Eastgate Gallery, Works from the Stockroom, Melbourne
Art Circe residence, exhibition at Arman Winery, Vizinada, Croatia
Art Circle residence, exhibition at Hofgut Battenberg, Battenberg Germany
HER-stories at Chapman & Bailey Abbotsford, Melbourne
2018
‘Fifty Shades of Red’ German Embassy, Canberra
The Artists Guild, Docklands, Melbourne
Abstract Lands, Birds Gallery, Melbourne
2016
VU Connect 16, MetroWest, Footscray, Melbourne
Belle Arti exhibition, Chapman & Bailey, Melbourne
2014
Linden Postcard Show, St Kilda, Melbourne
2013
xVU@D11, D11 Artist run space at Docklands, Melbourne
2012
Winner of Victoria University Arts Prize
2010
Monash University Graduate Show, Melbourne
2008
’30 x 30 x 30 cm’, Faculty Gallery, Monash University, Melbourne
2006
Victoria University Graduate exhibition, Melbourne
2005
Victoria University Art Prize at Fitzroy Gallery, Melbourne
1998
Summer Academy of Visual Arts, Salzburg, Austria, final exhibition
Residencies
Apr 2019
Art Circle Residence 2019 at Battenberg, Germany and Vizinada, Croatia
Sep 2018
Art Circle Residence 2018 at Lerida Winery, Canberra
May 2017
Residency at Château Orquevaux, Orquevaux, France