Julia Kuhl “What Happens Next”

frosch & portmann

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frosch&portmann presents What Happens Next, Julia Kuhl’s third solo exhibition with the gallery. The show brings together three distinct series of recent drawings by the Munich based artist.

Kuhl’s ‘unoriginal sin’ series deals with vulnerability and loss. The recurring rainbow—a motif we associate with enchantment, harmony, happiness—however, offers a hopeful note. Although intensely personal, the drawings from the ‘unoriginal sin’ series suddenly seem so political due to their rainbow and wall symbolism.

The ‘neighbors in space’ series ventures deeper into the brain and reimagines synapses, the links between nerve cells which function as communication centers. Adept if it comes to scientific imagery, Kuhl retains some characteristic neuronal anatomy while reinventing everything else; shoe pairs, opposed couples, or amoebic structures are just a few associations.

In her ‘domestic textiles’ series, Julia Kuhl combines commonplace household textile patterns with text. Sometimes banal, sometimes cryptic, the text adds a layer of ambiguity to familiar patterns.

Julia Kuhl (b. 1966 in St. Petersburg, Russia), grew up in New York and now lives and works in Munich, Germany. She holds a BA from Hunter College and an MA from the University of Applied Sciences, School of Design in Hamburg, Germany. Her drawings have been included in numerous exhibitions and are represented in private collections in the US and Europe. Kuhl was Artist in Residence at Sammlung Prinzhorn, Heidelberg (Germany).