Tamara K.E. (b. 1976)
Untitled
signed and dated 'Tamara K.e. 2005' (on the overlap)
oil on canvas
15¾ x 19⅝in. (40 x 50cm.)
Painted in 2005

Provenance:
Nusser & Baumgart Contemporary, Munich.
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2006.

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Specialist Notes:

From a palette of dusty greys and blues, emerges a scene suffused with mystery, hovering on the cusp of form and haze. Refuting any narrative reading, swathes of colour briefly coalesce to create a ghostly scene before melting back into planes of colour.

By enclosing her scene within a frame made of paint, Tamara K.E. explores the limitations of the medium, allowing the compositional element to prevent the viewer from entering the canvas any further. We are relegated to the position of voyeur, much like the standing male figure, a feeling further conveyed through the window that frames the two central figures. The frame within the frame centres our view and encourages us to wander within the confines of K.E.’s composition, searching for connection and meaning. The stark, two dimensional surface, the opaque tonalities of grey and violet, the lack of detail, are all reminders almost of the image in a dream or perhaps of a blurry, old memory.

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