Touches leave traces. They mark closeness and distance, the search for a fleeting moment of connection. In her paintings, Anna M. Kempe explores precisely these instances—the transient, the open-ended, the undefined encounters.
The figures in her works move toward one another, engaging in contact that is sometimes tentative, sometimes instinctive—always in flux—between approach and withdrawal, intimacy and ambiguity. They often seem to be part of a scene with open endings, where every movement has the potential to continue. While some figures appear and disappear like memories, others are clearly defined: bodies that are present, asserting themselves, holding one another, or breaking apart.
In her latest works, the line takes on a stronger focus. Bodies and movements are defined through drawn traces—lines that condense, break off, overlap, or remain fragmented. Watercolor reveals these movements: colors flow, contours stay open, touches are only suggested before dissolving again. The search for the right form remains visible on the paper, mirroring the search for a touch that feels right. At the same time, vivid, colorful spaces of nature open up the scenes, suffused with light, creating an atmosphere of effortless ease.
soft spot contact is a reflection on connection—how it emerges, shifts, or manifests in touch. It is an invitation to perceive the fragile and ever-changing nature of our encounters—and perhaps to find a personal point of contact.
The exhibition’s realization was accompanied by an artistic dialogue between Kempe and choreographer Elsa Artmann over the course of ten months. Excerpts from this exchange—somewhere between friendship and working relationship—appear in an accompanying zine.
The exhibition is complemented by Elsa Artmann’s performance Too Strong for Too Long—a solo excerpt from the ensemble piece Langes Wochenende, danced and spoken by Artmann and accompanied live by Annie Bloch. At its core is the fictional figure Freelance Lover, who explores collegial tenderness as a utopian form of connection—through embraces, love songs, and impassioned monologues. The performance reflects on the romanticization of work: the entanglement of professional and personal relationships, the intersections of intimacy and economy. Inspired by the intimacy techniques of lap dance, it examines the complexities of professionalized closeness—and the fractures within it.
Performance, 5.4.2025, 6 pm
