Elisabeth Sonneck: Berlin | Ritardando - In Color

9 December 2020 - 11 January 2021
  • introduction

    Since 2006 Elisabeth Sonneck has been showing her canvas works and large sheets of painted paper in sitespecific installations. Her physical approach merges space, viewer's movements and color. In the exhibition situation, her paintings are always part of a temporary environmental space - here we focus on them in individual images.

  • ELISABETH SONNECK | IN THE ARTIST'S STUDIO

    BERLIN, GERMANY

     

  • Elisabeth Sonneck, Installation view 2020, scrollpainting84 quinte (2019)

    Elisabeth Sonneck, Installation view 2020, Scrollpainting84 quinte (2019)
    Photo: Alistair Overbruck

    Ritardando - In Color

    Installation view 2020, scrollpainting84 quinte (2019)

    Ritardando is a musical term meaning a gradual decrease in speed. A sense of slowing down describes Sonneck’s considered and meticulous processes, facilitating her exploration into the physical relations of form and color in space.

     

    Sonneck’s practice is a dialogue between the intrinsic properties of her materials and situational elements of space, light, environment, and audience. Her paper installations—often standing upright in a scroll, rolled across the floor, or suspended and unfurling from a height—are a subtle manipulation of the material, guiding it into new and unique forms while allowing its weight, texture, and material tension to behave in organic ways. 

     

    On the paper and canvas surfaces, layers of paint interact and nuanced color relations play out in rhythmic repetition. “The fundamental fact of color,” says Sonneck, is that “color can never be exactly defined, named or remembered.” Color and form, and our relation to them, are redefined by each new context.

  • Fragile Forms in Space: An Interview with Elisabeth Sonneck

    We had the pleasure of talking with artist Elisabeth Sonneck in her Berlin studio. In this interview, we talk to Sonneck about her process, her love of paper, and the spatial relationships that make each installation of her works unique.

     

    Read full interview here

  • Clipage (variable)

    Layered, bent, and clipped together, original paintings on glassine paper are juxtaposed with reproductions. These assemblages continue Sonneck’s exploration of color and the innate qualities of paper while introducing new concepts through the photocopying process. “They deal with issues of visibility and absence, of original, reproduction, and identity.”

  • clipage series clipage series clipage series clipage series clipage series clipage series clipage series

    clipage series

    Layered, bent, and clipped together, original paintings on glassine paper are juxtaposed with reproductions. These assemblages continue Sonneck’s exploration of color and the innate qualities of paper while introducing new concepts through the photocopying process. “They deal with issues of visibility and absence, of original, reproduction, and identity.”

  • Clipage (Variables)

    Photo: Jochen Wehrmann
    • Elisabeth Sonneck clipage 16-12.4 (variable), 2016 Gouache on paper, bw-copy on fluocopy-paper 40 x 60 x 8 cm. ca. 15 3/4 x 23 5/8 x 3 1/8 in. ca. Series: Clipage Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      clipage 16-12.4 (variable), 2016
      Gouache on paper, bw-copy on fluocopy-paper
      40 x 60 x 8 cm. ca.
      15 3/4 x 23 5/8 x 3 1/8 in. ca.
      Series: Clipage
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck clipage 17-1.6 (variable), 2017 Gouache on paper, colorcopy 25 x 50 x 8 cm. ca. 9 7/8 x 19 3/4 x 3 1/8 in. ca. Series: Clipage Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      clipage 17-1.6 (variable), 2017
      Gouache on paper, colorcopy
      25 x 50 x 8 cm. ca.
      9 7/8 x 19 3/4 x 3 1/8 in. ca.
      Series: Clipage
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck clipage 20-3.1 (variable), 2020 Gouache on paper, colorcopy on paper, colorcopy on glassine, foldback clip (Frontside - backside are changeable.) 29 x 42 cm. ca. 11 3/8 x 16 1/2 in. ca. Series: Clipage Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      clipage 20-3.1 (variable), 2020
      Gouache on paper, colorcopy on paper, colorcopy on glassine, foldback clip
      (Frontside - backside are changeable.)
      29 x 42 cm. ca.
      11 3/8 x 16 1/2 in. ca.
      Series: Clipage
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck clipage 20-3.2 (variable), 2020 Gouache on paper, colorcopy on paper, bw-copy on glassine paper, foldback clip (Frontside - backside are changeable.) 29 x 42 cm. ca. 11 3/8 x 16 1/2 in. ca. Series: Clipage Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      clipage 20-3.2 (variable), 2020
      Gouache on paper, colorcopy on paper, bw-copy on glassine paper, foldback clip
      (Frontside - backside are changeable.)
      29 x 42 cm. ca.
      11 3/8 x 16 1/2 in. ca.
      Series: Clipage
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck clipage 20-3.6 (variable), 2020 Gouache on paper, color copy on paper, color copy on glassine paper, foldback clip (Frontside - backside are changeable) 29 x 42 cm. ca. 11 3/8 x 16 1/2 in. ca. Series: Clipage Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      clipage 20-3.6 (variable), 2020
      Gouache on paper, color copy on paper, color copy on glassine paper, foldback clip
      (Frontside - backside are changeable)
      29 x 42 cm. ca.
      11 3/8 x 16 1/2 in. ca.
      Series: Clipage
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck clipage 20-3.7 (variable), 2020 Gouache on paper, colorcopy on paper, colorcopy on glassine paper, foldback clip, (Frontside - back-side are changeable) 29 x 42 cm. ca 11 3/8 x 16 1/2 in. ca. Series: Clipage Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      clipage 20-3.7 (variable), 2020
      Gouache on paper, colorcopy on paper, colorcopy on glassine paper, foldback clip,
      (Frontside - back-side are changeable)
      29 x 42 cm. ca
      11 3/8 x 16 1/2 in. ca.
      Series: Clipage
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck clipage 20-3.8 (variable) , 2020 Gouache on paper, color copy on paper, bw-copy on glassine paper, with fold back clip, (Free-hanging) 29 x 42 x 12 cm. ca. 11 3/8 x 16 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. ca. Series: Clipage Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      clipage 20-3.8 (variable) , 2020
      Gouache on paper, color copy on paper, bw-copy on glassine paper, with fold back clip,
      (Free-hanging)
      29 x 42 x 12 cm. ca.
      11 3/8 x 16 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. ca.
      Series: Clipage
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck clipage (layerings), 2015 Oil on colored glassine paper, oil on paper, fold back clip, 120 x 60 x 18 cm. ca. 47 1/4 x 23 5/8 x 7 1/8 in. ca. Series: Clipage Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      clipage (layerings), 2015
      Oil on colored glassine paper, oil on paper, fold back clip,
      120 x 60 x 18 cm. ca.
      47 1/4 x 23 5/8 x 7 1/8 in. ca.
      Series: Clipage
      Signed and dated
  • "Paper is a simple, everyday material. Everyone thinks they know it... but it can still show new properties. Neither expensive nor exclusive, it does not impress with material preciousness. I adore the purity and poverty, the fragility and flexibility of paper." 

    Elisabeth Sonneck

     

  • Elisabeth Sonneck, Maeander19 / 1, 2018

    Oil paintings

    Maeander19 / 1, 2018

    On her canvases is where Sonneck’s deliberate brushwork and her experimentation with color can most clearly be observed. Steady and repetitious strokes of paint, varying in length and opacity, produce rhythmic bands of layered color unique to each piece. 

  • Maeander series

    Photo: Achim Kleuker
    • Elisabeth Sonneck Maeander13 / 1, 2015 Oil on canvas 100 x 100 cm. 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in. Series: Maeander Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      Maeander13 / 1, 2015
      Oil on canvas
      100 x 100 cm.
      39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in.
      Series: Maeander
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck Maeander13 / 2, 2015 Oil on canvas 100 x 100 cm. 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in. Series: Maeander Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      Maeander13 / 2, 2015
      Oil on canvas
      100 x 100 cm.
      39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in.
      Series: Maeander
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck Maeander13 / 3, 2015 Oil on canvas 100 x 100 cm. 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in. Series: Maeander Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      Maeander13 / 3, 2015
      Oil on canvas
      100 x 100 cm.
      39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in.
      Series: Maeander
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck Maeander19 / 1, 2018 Oil on canvas 100 x 100 cm. 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in. Series: Maeander Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      Maeander19 / 1, 2018
      Oil on canvas
      100 x 100 cm.
      39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in.
      Series: Maeander
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck Maeander19 / 2, 2018 Oil on canvas 100 x 100 cm. 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in. Series: Maeander Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      Maeander19 / 2, 2018
      Oil on canvas
      100 x 100 cm.
      39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in.
      Series: Maeander
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck Maeander19 / 3, 2018 Oil on canvas 100 x 100 cm. 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in. Series: Maeander Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      Maeander19 / 3, 2018
      Oil on canvas
      100 x 100 cm.
      39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in.
      Series: Maeander
      Signed and dated
  • Elisabeth Sonneck, Five Strokes11 / 3, 2017

    Five Strokes

    Five Strokes11 / 3, 2017
    Oil on canvas
    60 x 60 cm.
    23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in.
  • “Colors always react with one another and emerge from their specific context. Working with color means working in dialogue.”

    ELISABETH SONNECK

  • Five strokes series

    Photo: Achim Kleuker
    • Elisabeth Sonneck Five Strokes11 / 1, 2017 Oil on canvas 60 x 60 cm. 23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in. Series: Five Strokes Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      Five Strokes11 / 1, 2017
      Oil on canvas
      60 x 60 cm.
      23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in.
      Series: Five Strokes
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck Five Strokes11 / 2, 2017 Oil on canvas 60 x 60 cm. 23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in. Series: Five Strokes Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      Five Strokes11 / 2, 2017
      Oil on canvas
      60 x 60 cm.
      23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in.
      Series: Five Strokes
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck Five Strokes11 / 3, 2017 Oil on canvas 60 x 60 cm. 23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in. Series: Five Strokes Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      Five Strokes11 / 3, 2017
      Oil on canvas
      60 x 60 cm.
      23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in.
      Series: Five Strokes
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck Five Strokes13/ 1, 2020 Oil on canvas 60 x 60 cm. 23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in. Series: Five Strokes Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      Five Strokes13/ 1, 2020
      Oil on canvas
      60 x 60 cm.
      23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in.
      Series: Five Strokes
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck Five Strokes13/ 2, 2020 Oil on canvas 60 x 60 cm. 23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in. Series: Five Strokes Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      Five Strokes13/ 2, 2020
      Oil on canvas
      60 x 60 cm.
      23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in.
      Series: Five Strokes
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck Five Strokes13-3, 2020 Oil on canvas 60 x 60 cm. 23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in. Series: Five Strokes Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      Five Strokes13-3, 2020
      Oil on canvas
      60 x 60 cm.
      23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in.
      Series: Five Strokes
      Signed and dated
  • Elisabeth Sonneck, antiphon black light7 / 1, 2017

    antiphon

    antiphon black light7 / 1, 2017
    Oil on canvas
    145 x 145 cm.
    57 1/8 x 57 1/8 in.
  • “For each brushstroke, a multitude of decisions flows into the painting process, such as the opacity, fluidity, and saturation of paint, but above all, the color nuances that I mix and often modify.” 

    Elisabeth Sonneck

  • Antiphone series

    Photo: Achim Kleuker
    • Elisabeth Sonneck antiphon Black light5 / 2, 2013 Oil on canvas 145 x 145 cm. 57 1/8 x 57 1/8 in. Series: Antiphon Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      antiphon Black light5 / 2, 2013
      Oil on canvas
      145 x 145 cm.
      57 1/8 x 57 1/8 in.
      Series: Antiphon
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck antiphon black light6-3, 2014 Oil on canvas 145 x 145 cm. 57 1/8 x 57 1/8 in. Series: Antiphon Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      antiphon black light6-3, 2014
      Oil on canvas
      145 x 145 cm.
      57 1/8 x 57 1/8 in.
      Series: Antiphon
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck antiphon black light7 / 1, 2017 Oil on canvas 145 x 145 cm. 57 1/8 x 57 1/8 in. Series: Antiphon Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      antiphon black light7 / 1, 2017
      Oil on canvas
      145 x 145 cm.
      57 1/8 x 57 1/8 in.
      Series: Antiphon
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck antiphon black light7 / 2, 2017 Oil on canvas 145 x 145 cm. 57 1/8 x 57 1/8 in. Series: Antiphon Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      antiphon black light7 / 2, 2017
      Oil on canvas
      145 x 145 cm.
      57 1/8 x 57 1/8 in.
      Series: Antiphon
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck antiphon black light7 / 3, 2017 Oil on canvas 145 x 145 cm. 57 1/8 x 57 1/8 in. Series: Antiphon Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      antiphon black light7 / 3, 2017
      Oil on canvas
      145 x 145 cm.
      57 1/8 x 57 1/8 in.
      Series: Antiphon
      Signed and dated
  • Scroll paintings

    Sonneck’s scrollpaintings honor the physical characteristics of her everyday materials. Whether standing in a scroll, rolled across the floor, or hanging by a counterweight construction, these painted paper works contain an inherent dynamic tension and infinite potential for unique relations between form, color, space, and viewer. 

  • Scroll paintings Scroll paintings Scroll paintings Scroll paintings Scroll paintings

    Scroll paintings

    Sonneck’s scrollpaintings honor the physical characteristics of her everyday materials. Whether standing in a scroll, rolled across the floor, or hanging by a counterweight construction, these painted paper works contain an inherent dynamic tension and infinite potential for unique relations between form, color, space, and viewer. 

  • “These paper-installations are not solid, “crystallized” sculptures; they are flexible and in a fragile physical balance. They emerge simultaneously from the material tension of the paper and the process of shaping them by hand on-site.”

     

    Elisabeth Sonneck

  • Scrollpainting Series

    Photo: Jochen Wehrmann
    • Elisabeth Sonneck Scrollpainting small sister, 2018-19 Oil on paper with band iron 110 x 500 cm. 43 1/4 x 196 7/8 in. Series: Scrollpainting Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      Scrollpainting small sister, 2018-19
      Oil on paper with band iron
      110 x 500 cm.
      43 1/4 x 196 7/8 in.
      Series: Scrollpainting
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck small scrollpainting, 2019 2x Oil on colored glassine paper ea. with nylon thread, and fold back clip 70 x 50 cm. 27 1/2 x 19 3/4 in. Series: Scrollpainting Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      small scrollpainting, 2019
      2x Oil on colored glassine paper ea. with nylon thread, and fold back clip
      70 x 50 cm.
      27 1/2 x 19 3/4 in.
      Series: Scrollpainting
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck small scroll, 2019 2x oil on colored glassine paper 50 x 70 cm. (each rolled) 19 3/4 x 27 1/2 in. (each rolled) Series: Scrollpainting Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      small scroll, 2019
      2x oil on colored glassine paper
      50 x 70 cm. (each rolled)
      19 3/4 x 27 1/2 in. (each rolled)
      Series: Scrollpainting
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck scrollpainting76 dual, 2019 Oil on paper 110 x 220 cm. 43 1/4 x 86 5/8 in. Series: Scrollpainting Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      scrollpainting76 dual, 2019
      Oil on paper
      110 x 220 cm.
      43 1/4 x 86 5/8 in.
      Series: Scrollpainting
      Signed and dated
    • Elisabeth Sonneck scrollpainting86 open radius#8, 2019-20 Oil on paper 125 x 400 cm. 49 1/4 x 157 1/2 in. Series: Scrollpainting Signed and dated
      Elisabeth Sonneck
      scrollpainting86 open radius#8, 2019-20
      Oil on paper
      125 x 400 cm.
      49 1/4 x 157 1/2 in.
      Series: Scrollpainting
      Signed and dated
  • PRESS RELEASE  

    RITARDANDO - IN COLOR

     

    ONLINE EXHIBITION 

    DECEMBER 9, 2020 - JANUARY 11, 2021

     

    Rounding off the year, the Ronewa Art Projects online viewing room showcases works by Berlin-based artist Elisabeth Sonneck. Sonneck’s painting and installation practice spans infinite forms, united by her rigorous commitment to the inherent potential of her materials. 

     

    Ritardando is a musical term meaning a gradual decrease in speed. The notion of slowing down is fitting as a broad reflection on the change of pace in many areas of life in 2020. Slowness, as it relates to Sonneck’s practice, describes her considered and meticulous processes and facilitates her exploration into the physical relations of form and color in space.

     

    Download Press Release

  • About the Artist

    Elisabeth Sonneck installing a scrollpainting. Photo: Yang Rui

    About the Artist

    Elisabeth Sonneck was born in Bünde, Germany, and lives and works in Berlin. She studied sculpture and has held several art academy teaching positions and led curatorial projects that focus on color and space. Since 2006, her practice has focused on site-specific interventions with wall paintings and large-scale paper installations. Her work has been widely shown in museums, art institutions, galleries, artist-run spaces, and public spaces and is included in private and public collections worldwide.