Tatjana Danneberg (b. 1991, lives and works in Vienna). She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna (2011–17), and at the Städelschule—Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Frankfurt (2014–15).
Danneberg’s works on canvas can be placed on the intersection of photography and painting. Through producing paintings, which are based on photographs printed on special films, primed with gesso, and then transferred onto canvas, she fuses the seemingly contradictory characteristics of the two mediums - photography with its documentary nature and sort of objectiveness in showcasing reality; and painting - a largely subjective medium, capable of revealing invisible details, traits, and sensations of things. Tatjana’s works are laced with tension between the two - the painterly gesture seemingly questioning the integrity and authenticity of the photographed scenes and their relationship to reality. The question of what constitutes a ‘real’, authentic image, is precisely what drives Danneberg’s practice.
She has come to regard photographs as snapshots, temporal „cut-outs” of reality. The photos Tatjana uses for her works are taken with a basic analog snapshot camera, their subjects - family, friends, random objects of everyday use, her immediate surroundings - in other words, photos the likes of which we all have in hundreds, if not thousands, in the camera rolls of our phones. But here, instead of being stored for a possible future moment, they are developed and incorporated as elements of paintings. Danneberg cultivates a tension between the intimacy and the alienation of the images - subjects coming from her immediate environment, yet their identity hidden. The actions in which they are caught - quotidian, unexciting. Even though each chosen carefully, the images all maintain a level of ambiguity - the motives used comprise moments picked up from the corner of the eye, unassuming details, which so often slip our consciousness. Instead of making their subjects the focal point or proposing a coherent narrative, Danneberg’s works simulate our experiences and visuals encountered on the internet and in our daily lives—a continuous stream of seeing and viewing. Danneberg encapsulates the idea of life experience being limited to the mere act of meticulous observation, observation that does not interfere with one’s surroundings, but simply documents it. The painterly gesture is meant to interfere with the logic of the photographs, once again putting into question what constitutes a real image, and what a constructed one.
Tatjana Danneberg, Podcasts 2023, exhibition view more information about the exhibition
“By experimenting with materials and processes for transferring images to canvas, Tatjana Danneberg transforms her candid analogue photographs into expressive paintings. Using point-and-shoot cameras, the artist seeks to prolong occasional memories by depicting relatives, acquaintances, and everyday objects in familiar and often intimate shots. Her technique for making the transition from photography to painting is fairly complex. The images are first enlarged and printed by inkjet onto sheets of plastic foil. They are then painted with gesso, left to dry and wetted again, before finally being separated from the foil and transferred to canvas. The final result is only known once the sheet is removed from the canvas. Revealing fragments of objects, everyday actions, or even a total absence of action, these images akin to amateur snapshots are transformed into a powerful pictorial gesture. The brushstrokes applied by the artist intuitively follow the composition of the photograph, adding movement while obscuring part of the image.” MEP Paris
Tatjana Danneberg, Something Happened at MEP Paris, 2024, exhibition view more information on the MEP website
Tatjana Danneberg, Something Happened at MEP Paris, 2024, exhibition view more information on the MEP website
