Through an intuitive, process-driven approach, Anja Weingärtner creates new worlds that reflect the present while opening up new spaces of possibility. Unfinished, accidental and unexpected elements become opportunities for discovery. Her work is deeply rooted in dialogue – with materials, other artists and audiences. At KUNST/MITTE, she looks forward to opening up her work to new perspectives and encounters. Current projects include the solo exhibition Moving Stillness, a collaborative work with Berlin-based artist Marco Wachsmuth, and experiments with immersive exhibition spaces.
I want to create new worlds out of nothing – worlds that are both a reflection of the present and visions of new spaces of possibility.
In an intuitive and process-driven approach, I bring a wide variety of materials and techniques into dialogue with one another. I am interested in making spaces of experience and unexplored worlds visible – worlds that only reveal themselves through the process. The resulting works initially surprise me and later invite the viewer to discover new perspectives and realities.
I see the unfinished, accidental and fractured as expressions of countless possibilities. Wherever something eludes us, a space for something new opens up.
My painting begins where control ends – in the gesture, the impulse, the first movement across the surface. A crack in the layer of paint, the way materials interact, or the quietness of an unexpected combination of colours – these things contain something essential for me. Not as a symbol, but as an immediate experience.
That is why the beginning and the end of a painting are equally important to me. There is no predetermined destination towards which everything is moving. Every moment is the moment.
The New & Abstract platform at KUNST/MITTE provides my work with a space where it can not only be viewed but directly experienced. For me, painting is a conversation that begins in the studio and continues through encounters with the audience.
At an art fair in particular, people encounter the works without prior knowledge or fixed expectations. This openness fascinates me, because every encounter creates new interpretations and adds another layer to the paintings. For me, this exchange is not a one-way street – the different reactions to density, materiality and openness feed back into my artistic process.
I also have a personal connection to Magdeburg: my father grew up nearby and passed on his love of colour to me. I am therefore especially happy to show my work here and engage in conversation with visitors.
What significance does dialogue with other artists and curatorial concepts at an art fair have for you?
Dialogue with other artists and curatorial concepts is an essential part of my artistic practice. Just as in my painting, I am interested in the conversation between different materials, artistic approaches and perspectives.
Encountering other positions opens up new perspectives and broadens one’s own view. I am looking forward to being part of this exchange because I believe that engaging with contemporary art can expand our view of the world enormously.
That is precisely what makes an art fair like KUNST/MITTE so valuable to me: it brings different artistic positions together in one space and demonstrates that contemporary art is not a finished result, but an ongoing dialogue – open, multifaceted and constantly evolving.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on a solo exhibition entitled Moving Stillness, based on a series of photographs of cleaning cloths. How the works will ultimately look is only emerging through the process itself – entirely in keeping with my artistic approach, in which the outcome is not predetermined but develops through making.
At the same time, I am creating a larger collaborative work with Berlin-based artist Marco Wachsmuth. I am interested in the dialogue between two different artistic approaches and in discovering what can emerge through working together.
I am also exploring how exhibition spaces can be transformed into immersive experiences. I am less interested in the traditional presentation of individual works than in the question of how a space itself can become a space of experience – and what we can bring into the world together.