Gabriele Lockstaedt NEMESIS

occidental symbolism, the colour red had always represented
pain and martyrdom; hence, the suffering of christ.
In some areas of her paintings, absorbing shades of red turn
into a darkish violet and thus reflect – generally in combination
with the colour black – the liturgical colours of ritual
abstinence and the special meaning of „Good Friday“. In a
similar context, we find the principal use of grey – as ever
the crusted mixture is made of wooden ashes and fixed acrylics
– serving as the prevailing colour within the informality
of three of these paintings. Another important pictorial gesture
are gloomy shades of white. They represent universal
spiritual virtues such as purity, innocence and inner peace.
But first of all, the applied whites and greys are reassuring
counterparts to enigmatic patches of red and black.
In substance - and thus in temporal accordance with the biblical
chronology - the first painting is titled „Spark “.
A devine spark ignites the creation of the material world. In
the upper left, a spiritual impuls breaks through a dark cloud
and manifests itself in a bold streak of light. A white universe
in the center of the canvas seperates the devine light from the
red, rotating circle of mater, placed in the lower right which
represents a world in the making. This gestural informality
is set against a square rectangle at the substratum of this
piece. Here, the colours are darker, more restraint and of an
almost crustily, but anyway eroding nature. We also find this
geomatrical shape in the painting „Membran“. It reminds of
a byzantine sarcophagus out of which violet and red clouds
are emerging, if only to fade immediately into superimposing
streaks of red. Both parts radiate enormous energy. If standing
alone, there would not be any thematic link between
those motives. Only two red arrows serve as some sort of
visual intermediaries. In a figurative sense, those two arrows
take Micheangelo’s famous fresco at the Vaticans Sixtinian
Chapel even further. While Michelangelo depicted the ideal
human being as a magnificent token of perfect mannerism, „
Spark“ remains to be strictly abstract. Above all, both fields
of energy also include the existence of evil and inner darkness.
Certain structures and colours are visually implicating
the spill of blood, the perils of war and the everlasting human
ordeal or plight. Already, human mortality and devine infinity,
life and death are inseparably interwoven into the texture
of the material world.
After this forceful beginnig we look at „Paradise Lost“. Here,
the format defines the actual composition. PL sets itself apart
from the rest of the cycle by depicting the leading protagonists
- Adam and Eve – as clearly recognisable figurations.
Nevertheless, they are separated by a dark trunk of a tree.
Out of nowhere appears / disappears a yellowish, slippery
snake. Looking at the center, the observer is confronted with
a truly odd couple: Eve is completely naked, covering her
pubis with both hands. Insecure but outright lascivious, she
looks at Adam, yet without being able to see him. Adam presents
himself as rather „cool“. His dark sunglasses separate
him from the rest of the world. The strange couple is trapped
in a damp, sulphureous swamp. Only some dark and ragged
trees structure the otherwise surrealistic landscape like a set
of omnious iron bars. Vertical and horizontal streaks of colour
are cutting straight through the two human figurines. Obviously,
there is no secure route of escape.
The next piece of work is titled „Nucleus“. Out of a red hot inferno,
an angel breaks forward. But it is none of those charming
baroque „Putti“, but a devine messenger who stretches
its dilating wings in a colourful explosion. It is only for the
sketched drapery in the lower midsection of the painting to
set a slower pace. The rest of the painting suggests a calm
and even peaceful atmosphere .
In obvious contrast to the lively figuration at the very center
are the red crusted pigments in the left lower section of the
canvas. Putting that in an enhanced context with the general
theme „ Nemesis - Passion“, one might even think of another
theme from genesis: „Expulsion From Paradise“. Here, the
thematic parallel suggests a flaming inferno, where – on
dooms day – the archangel Michael punishes all worldly sinners.
In a much wider sense, „Nucleus“ reflects the very essence
of all physical and spiritual matter.
As we are looking at „Novalis“, we experience yet another
change of pace. Now, various nuances of grey and yellow are
setting the stage. On each side of the canvas, a row boat carries
two gloomy figures. On the left - as the vessel appears
out of an illuminated yellow only to hover within an endless
realm of white - the small craft seems to follow a delicate
horizontal line. On the right, a similar boat melts into blurred
shades of grey. At the center of these geomatrical lines, a veil
of ashes breaks open and reveals the shape of a red cross. A
fragmented skeleton envisions the mythical ferryman Charon
who is crossing the river Styx on to the shores of the ancient
greek underworld, the„Hades“. Than again, the title „Novalis“
takes us back into our christian culture. Contrasting fields of
light and shadow may remind us on Novalis famous poem
„Hymnos of the night“. The romantic german poet saw love as
the universal power which not only overcomes the boundries
of life and death, but also those of day and night. Novalis saw
love as one of the crucial pillars of christian mythology. To
him, love was the precondition to the resurrection of christ as
much as he perceived it as the devine symbol of life.
The diptych „Membran“ shows a similar context. The huge
rectangle could either be a sarcophagus or serve as some sort
of geometrical foundation. In the upper section to the left, we
recognize a ring of fire. Again, the crown of thorns indicates
the martyrdom of christ. The translucent backround of white
is not strictly monochrom but radiates a delicate and pale
haziness. Sporadic patches of red, black or grey are dotting
the profiling white of the backdrop. The circling movement
of the crown of thorns is absorped by a suggested malstroem
which stretches across both segments of this wide diptych.
Apart from the sarcophagus, we see a permeable circle; again
as a gestural reference to the passion of Jesus and his eventual
resurrection.
Another of the huge upright formats is titled „Doubt“. Once
more, it pays homage to the genius of Michelangelo and one
of his well known masterpieces; the „Pieta“. In Lockstaedt’s
„Doubt“ the black contures are set within a field of washedout
red. The central axes is somewhat tilted to the left and so
is the colourful foundation. Both adjustments are obviously
contributing to the frail nature of the principal composition.
Her„Pieta“ radiates a general atmosphere of tranquility and
peace. Only the central motive stands in visible contrast to
the otherwise abstract explosion of colour in the backround .
The title „Doubt“ says it all; uncertainty and constant changes
are the only reliable factors; in every day life as well as for
the christian faith in general. Once more, crossing lines of
white and red epitomize the shape of the holy cross and thus
the passion of christ. It is no incident, that those white verticals
could be associated with a symbolic dagger which cuts
straight trough the face of Mary. Dispairingly, her gaze wanders
into oblivion with the corpse of her dead son – at least
for the moment – becoming irrelevant.
While looking at „Tarkowskij“, we are confronted with the
last painting of the „Passion – Cycle“. The diptych leads us into
a distant, even surrealistic landscape. On the right segment
a streak of light cuts trough a mass of dark, vertical tress,
supplemented with golden reflection and shimmering dots
of copper. On the left, the actual setting disappears beneath
a field of pale grey. Only a few white lines lend some depth
and structure to the generally impenetrable mist. Riddlesome
quotes such as: „The Dove Sits Here“ and „The Characters
Are Next To Each Other“ suggest long forgotten themes from
the past. They are contrasting several trees on the right. We
have already seen a similar partition in „Paradise Lost“. But
here, the rays of light cutting through the tress is cold and
repelling. The coexistence as much as the diverseness of the
two segments creates a dream-like landscape which reminds
of the nightmarish settings in many of Andrej Tarkowskijs
movies. The impressive images of the late Russian filmmaker
need no words; they are timeless mythical reflections on the
inevitable fate of mankind.
Conclusion
Gabriele Lockstaedt’s paintings do not follow any religious
impuls regarding the christian faith, but bear wittnes to her
curiosity to create a cycle of paintings about the mystery of
passion. First of all, they render a personal view on the mystery
of the passion of christ. Her main artistic approach was
– and still is - the use of wooden ashes and cinders; even
though the artist has worked with these materials for many
years now. Her cycle „Nemesis – Passion“ confronts us with
various mystical aspects in regard to existensialism and the
mystery of passion.
However, her set of paintings reaches far beyond; from the
historic sources all the way into our present life and times.
With „Nemesis – Passion“, she opted for a dualistic approach;
the structural concept is without question equal to the artistic
impuls. By taking this concomitance into account, each text
refers to one of the works presented in this catalog. Yet what
is even more important; they are reflective introductions to
Gabriele Lockstaedt’s intuitive and comprehendsible way of
painting.
By Gudrun Szczepanek
Summarization / Adaptation
Harald v. Wieckowski
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