The Mobiliar art collection has acquired a significant video work by Schreiber, and the exhibition «Variables and Constants» at the König Büro Gallery attracts the interest of collections and financial institutions. finews.art visited Karoline Schreiber's exhibition opening.
Karoline Schreiber, born in Bern in 1969, has been working with the medium of drawing for 30 years. The «Receipts» series, which Schreiber has been working on since 2018, represents an unusual interweaving of art and economics. She transforms personal expenses, which are recorded on the receipts and are not tax-deductible, into works of art.
«Nach Schreiber 3», Karoline Schreiber: Quittungen (Bild: David Aebi)
The pricing of the drawings adheres to a unique formula: the sales value equals the purchase price plus 2,000 francs. For instance, with a standard purchase price of 70 francs, the artwork would be priced at 2,070 francs. This approach intertwines everyday transactions with the realm of art, offering insight into the monetary dynamics of our society.
Schreibers «Quittungen» an der Wand, Haus für Kunst Uri. (Bild: David Aebi)
Art on receipts
Schreiber's artistic language is characterized by a profound examination of the unconscious and the human condition. Her works, which sometimes tend towards the grotesque, are humorous and free of censorship. Around 250 drawings in the «Quittungen» series bear witness to her unmistakable vision and her ability to transform the banal into art.
«Nach Kippenberger», Karoline Schreiber: Quittungen (Bild: David Aebi)
Solo show in Zurich
Galerie König Büro is showing Schreiber's exhibition «Variables and Constants» from April 13 to May 11, 2024. The large-format «Drawing Account» works on display there, executed with oil stick and pencil, unveil a sense of physicality through their striking black-and-white compositions and nuanced shades of gray. These works, which are created in an elaborate process, invite reflection and are part of a collection of almost 60 works created since 2016.
Exhibition view: Karoline Schreiber, on the right the work «Fröhlicher Sack». (Bild: Damian Byland)
Shown for the first time
The exhibition is enriched by small-format single-sheet drawings extracted from Schreiber's notebooks, a practice which she has been maintained diligently for 16 years. These deeply personal notes, never before displayed in an exhibition, resemble diary entries, some of which are in color, comprise around 5000 sheets.
Karoline Schreiber, Cut-Out 2, 2024 (Bild: finews.art)
These «automatic» drawings play an important role for Schreiber. They are intuitive, daily notes that she records in black fiber-tip pen. These graphic reflexes are created without fear of failure. Here, the artist follows the «Écriture automatique», a method that was primarily used by the Surrealists, wherein the unconscious is laid bare. Schreiber captures whatever thoughts come to mind through drawing.
Reasonable prices
The works in the current exhibition range in price from CHF 2,000 for the small-format drawings to CHF 10,000 for the large-format works, which illustrates the breadth and value of Schreiber's artistic output.
Works in prestigious collections
Schreiber's work can be found in prestigious public collections such as the City of Zurich, the Canton of Zurich, the Schweizerische Mobiliar collection and far beyond. Her extensive solo show «Karoline Schreiber tidies up» at the Haus für Kunst Uri in 2019, curated by Barbara Zürcher, underlined her importance in the art scene. As a publicist and lecturer at the Bern University of the Arts, Schreiber not only shapes the artistic landscape, but also makes a significant contribution to academic debate.
With her current exhibition, Karoline Schreiber opens a window into her world—a realm where art intertwines seamlessly with economics, and the boundaries between the public and the private blur in a singular fashion.
The exhibition Karoline Schreiber, «Variables and Constants» can be seen at Galerie Büro König in Zurich until May 11, 2024. More under this link.
