Olga Korper Gallery, Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto
Through photography and installation, Angela Grauerholz explores themes of memory, transience and loss. Born in Hamburg, West Germany, she studied graphic design and literature before moving to Montreal in 1976. She completed a Master’s degree in photography at Concordia University. With experimental techniques, her imagery often has a sparse and melancholic air, powerfully evoking a timeless quality. Her subjects encompass both historical and commonplace objects and settings. Her photography relies on an in-depth knowledge of architecture, graphic design, furniture and decorative design. A recurring focus of her work has been on in-between spaces such as doors, windows and stairs. These intermediate ‘non-places’ conjure a disquieting sense of nostalgia for an unspecified time and place, stirring the personal associations and memories of the viewer.
In the 1990s, her artistic practice shifted from singular photographs to installations made up of extensive collections of images. Her major work “Sententia I-LXII” consists of 62 silver print photos housed in a large, carefully designed wooden cabinet. The work requires the physical interaction of the audience to slide the images in and out from the unit for viewing. In addition to personal memory, Grauerholz also explores cultural or collective memory by focusing on collections and archives of images. Throughout her career, Grauerholz has applied a personal and poetic sensibility to a complex range of subject matter.
