Petra Rös-Nickel

Insight Beige 16/5

2016

Petra was born in 1963 in Wathlingen near Celle, Germany, and breaks completely new ground with her abstract forms of painting and expression. After studying fashion design at the professional school for clothing in Bremen, in 1980, Petra Rös-Nickel changed her field of study to architecture in Eckernförde, in 1982. She now lives in Hamburg, Germany. Preferring the creative aspects of the studies to the technical ones, the artist developed the basics of her painting, never denying the roots of applied design and soon ending in a refreshing, distinctive style. Petra Rös-Nickel experiments with form, along with the use of a technique that draws attention to the processes used in creating a painting. Essential is the color space presented in multiple layers that offers the beholder access to more profound color planes. These details, scratchings, and rubbings lead to various elements of tension, such as “patchwork” or harmonious-contemplative forms (“windows”) and “oscillating lines”. Petra Rös-Nickel’s original paintings merge playful forms, bright colors, and architectural compositions in oil and mixed media on canvas. Her contemporary artworks contain rich textures and patterns, referencing popular European textile designs of the fifties and sixties. Rös-Nickel’s work translates the geometric and organic elements of an era that hoisted the flags of modernism and which, due to a trend to return to a rather retro style, has become topical once more. Mostly established on large tables of colors and directed toward one color world, the artist‘s oil paintings develop an energetic impact on the space they‘re displayed in, conveying her joy of life and self-confidence. Her abstract geometric textured artworks have been exhibited and collected worldwide including in Germany, Belgium, and the USA (Artspace Warehouse Los Angeles), Switzerland (Kunstwarenhaus Zurich), Canada, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Notable collectors include Chris Rock.