Sylke von Gaza

Work Netherlandish and Italian Renaissance painting has always been a key source of inspiration for Sylke von Gaza. With her large-scale abstract oil paintings she positions herself within the tradition of the Old Masters without, however, referencing them directly in her formal language.

Her work thus far can be divided into different strands. Her principal body of work consists of Early Works, individual works, themed groups of works, site-specific works and the series of Veil Paintings, among them the Grey Veil Paintings and Red Veil Paintings. The ability to disclose by concealing, to render visible by shrouding – the artist has internalised this fundamental potential of painting and made it central to her work.

A classification in the art historical narrative took place in 2016 on the occasion of the museum exhibition Behind the Curtain. Concealment and Revelation since the Renaissance at the Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf, curated by Beat Wismer and Prof. Claudia Blümle. The thematic show featured two large Veil Paintings by the artist.

To mark the Venice Biennale of 2015, the Venetian Curia commissioned von Gaza with a site-specific work for the Renaissance chapel of the Gussoni family in the church of San Lio. Working on site inside the chapel during the Beyond the Veil project, the artist created the Gussoni Red Veil Paintings Triptych, which is now permanently installed in the Renaissance chapel designed around 1479 by Tullio and Pietro Lombardo. The famous Venetian painter of Veduta Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697–1768), better known as Canaletto, is buried in the chapel. In spring 2019, the installation Il Nido travelled on to Gedächtniskirche in Berlin.

Recognition 2007: Meisterschülerin in Fine Arts at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste München under Prof. Sean Scully. 2023: INTRO | RETRO | SPECTIVE, Sotheby's, Hamburg (solo) 2021: BIG! Large-Format Works from the Sprengel Museum Hannover, curated by Reinhard Spieler, Sprengel Museum Hannover 2019: Il Nido in der Gedächtniskirche, Berlin, (solo) 2018: Il Nido inside Basilica Santa Maria della Salute, Venice (solo) 2018: Gabriel & Lucifero. The most precious Pigment of Renaissance Venice, Palazzo Contarini Polignac, Venice (solo) 2018: BIAS Biennale Internazionale 2018, Museo Riso, Capella dell' Incoronazione, Palermo 2017: Il Nido. A Pilgrimage towards Equilibrium, project start for Padiglioni Paralleli of Curia Patriarcale di Venezia and glasswork with Berengo Studio, Murano, during 57th Venice Biennale, at Basilica della Salute, Osservatorio del Seminario Patriarcale, Punta della Dogana, Venice (solo) 2017: Summertime: Brüning, Erben, von Gaza, Huidobro, Merschmann, Münch, Gallery Hans Strelow, Düsseldorf 2017: 52nd Art Cologne, Gallery Hans Strelow, Cologne 2016/17: Behind the Curtain. Concealment and Revelation since the Renaissance. From Titian to Cristo, curated by Beat Wismer and Prof. Dr. Claudia Blümle, Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf 2016: Private View Villa von Schulthess-Bodmer, Zürich (solo) 2016: Fabrica Ecclesiae, Museo Diocesano d'Arte Sacra Sant' Apollonia, San Marco, Venice 2015: Beyond the Veil, Hofglasmalerei Gustav van Treeck, Munich 2013: Handwerk und Kirche, Gallery Handwerk of Chamber of Commerce of Munich and Upper Bavaria in collaboration with Erzbischöfliches Ordinariat München, Carmelite Church of St. Nicholas, Munich 2013: Spirituality in Painting, Gallery Art Consult, Munich (solo) 2012: Positionswechsel, BayWa, Munich 2011: Light & Painting, Palazzo Ca' del Duca, Venice (solo) 2010: Jahresgaben, Munich Art Society, Munich 2009: The Process of Creation, Rich Gallery, London (solo) 2009: Malerei, Gallery Biedermann, Munich (solo) 2008: Jahresausstellung des 15. Kunstpreises, Aichach Art Society, Aichach 2007: Jahresausstellung, Traunstein Art Society, Traustein 2007: Diplomausstellung Abschlussklasse Prof. Sean Scully, Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, Munich

Permanent Installations

since 2015: Gussoni Red Veil Triptych, San Marco, Venice Sammlung Schnetkamp, Düsseldorf/Oldenburg Collezione Seminario Patriarcale di Venezia, Venice Sammlung Hackenberg, Munich Sprengel Museum Hannover, Julian Bruno Vogel: Himmel über Berlin. Die Installation Il Nido der deutschen Künstlerin Sylke von Gaza macht Halt im Alten Turm der Gedächtniskirche zu Berlin, Zeitkunst (5/2019), Neu-Isenburg, 2019. Ein Nest für die Gedächtniskirche, Berliner Morgenpost 29/4/2019, Berlin 2019. Tim Jäger: Das Nest in der Gedächtniskirche, RBB Abendschau, ARD 27/4/2019, Berlin 2019. Tim Ackermann: Il Nido - Venedigs geheimes Nest, Weltkunst 8. December 2017, Berlin/Hamburg 2017. Guido Brivio: Mysterium Coniunctionis. Gabriel & Lucifero by Sylke von Gaza, Venezia & Torino 2017. Alan Jones: „As High as the Eagle“ - Sylke von Gaza’s Installation „Il Nido“ in Venice, Venezia 2017. Petra Schaefer: Hoch über den Kirchendächern von Venedig. Die deutsche Künstlerin Sylke von Gaza präsentiert die Installation "Il Nido", Zeitkunst (11/2017), Neu-Isenburg 2017. Irmgard Bernrieder: Dem Blick entrückte Huldigung, Textcluster 29. November 2017, Brüggen 2017. Beat Wismer, Claudia Blümle (Ed.): Hinter dem Vorhang. Verhüllung und Enthüllung seit der Renaissance – von Tizian bis Christo, with contributions by Horst Bredekamp, Georges Didi-Huberman, Wolfgang Kemp, Roland Krischel, Oskar Bätschmann, Lia Bertram, Dortje Fink, Vincent von Frankenberg, Klaus Krüger, Saskia C. Quené, Patrik Reuterswärd, Julia Ryll, Barbara Schnellewald, Beate Söntgen, Victor I. Stoichita and Gerhard Wolf, exhibition catalogue Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf, Hirmer, Munich 2016. Helga Meister: Im Ehrenhof wird der Vorhang gelüftet, Westdeutsche Zeitung WZ 30 September 2017, Wuppertal, Krefeld, Düsseldorf 2016. Thomas Köster: "Hinter dem Vorhang" im Museum Kunstpalast, Westdeutscher Rundfunk WDR 30 September 2016, Cologne 2016. Tim Ackermann: Venedig wird abstrakt, Weltkunst 106 (10/2015), Berlin/Hamburg 2015. Gianmatteo Caputo: Beyond the Veil: Red Veil Paintings nella Chiesa di San Lio, Uffici Beni Culturali & Turismo della Curia Patriarcale di Venezia UBC, Venice 2015. Laura Schwarz: Schichtarbeit, Architectural Digest AD (10/2013), Munich 2013. Jolanda Drexler: Sylke von Gaza in Conversation with Jolanda Drexler, Artology 2 (2013), Munich 2013. Florian Seidl (Ed.): Jahresgaben 2010, Kunstverein München e.V., Munich 2010. Steven Rich (Ed.): Sylke von Gaza: Red Veil Paintings. The Process of Creation, London 2009. Martin H. Schmidt: Die Schleier der Sylke von Gaza – Who is afraid of grey, white and red?, Kronberg 2007.