Shame and Vulnerability
There is a decidedly hyper-realistic dimension to Mauren Brodbeck’s portraits; yet the addition of flat color fields introduces a certain level of abstraction, thus inventing a kind of new figuration in which the viewer is simultaneously confronted with the real and the unreal.
So, what is she seeking? To convey an intimate emotion? An attitude?
I believe she is constantly striving to answer the following question: through photography—the snapshot of reality—how can one reach the immateriality of emotion? The language of shapes and colors, which she manipulates directly on the negative, allows her to explore the labyrinth of the mind thus captured, and should be seen as a true expression of nature—of our human nature.
Mauren Brodbeck skillfully navigates some of the major challenges of contemporary art, particularly the move away from figuration toward abstraction, or the notion of distancing—where, in straying too far from reality, it becomes unrecognizable.
Not to mention that photography, in the context of art history, remains a relatively recent medium.
Mash © Mauren Brodbeck