"Daniela Schonbachler: The Silent Art of Secrecy"
2008-06-17 until 2008-09-13
Riflemaker
London, , UK United Kingdom

Murano-based artist Daniela Schonbachler employs a unique glass canvas in a series of stunning architectural works that layer oil and ink in her debut exhibition at Riflemaker this summer.   Her two- and three-dimensional works break from the decorative techniques and traditions of the world-famous glassmakers on the island of Murano, off Venice (where Schonbachler has a studio), to challenge divisions between art, architecture and craft.   In one series of large-scale ‘paintings’, sheets of layered glass are painted with oil and ink and fused to form transparent works that look into a dark, deep universe poised between tension and tranquility.   In newer works, rather than paint directly onto glass, she shows glass blocks on easels set away from the gallery walls - three-dimensional, layered objects that change according to the angle from which they are viewed.

The exhibition, her first solo show in London, takes the idea of contrasts as its point of departure. Schönbächler believes that life is based on two opposing forces, and her paintings explore the tension created by this polarity, resulting in harmony. The overall theme uniting all of Schönbächlers work is one of contemplation, offering an opportunity to take silent refuge from the chaos, commotion and confusion of the world outside.

Daniela Schönbächler was born in Zug, Switzerland. After studying architecture in Paris, she collaborated with architect Mario Botta in Lugano, Switzerland, where her work evolved into more sculptural forms, with glass becoming the element that linked architecture to art.  Further technical studies of glass in Germany, Switzerland and Italy were followed by training alongside the sculptor and mentor Luciano Vistosi in Venice, resulting in a collaboration spanning over a decade. Schönbächler continues to work from her studios in Venice and London, evolving her unique intermingling of glass and paint.

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