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Fortuna
von • by Anne-Clara Stahl

www.anneclarastahl.de

A web of tightly interlocking hands, every now and then a face

that seems to be hiding between them: the oil on canvas paint-

ings Seide (pp. 08–09), Fortuna (pp. 28–29) and Fried (pp.

44–45) by the artist Anne-Clara Stahl show an almost endless

entanglement of touch and closeness – touching, embracing,

holding on, not letting go! How closely are we ourselves inter-

woven with our interpersonal relationships? What is cohesion?

How much closeness do we need? And when does closeness

become confinement? The series Fabricius, which comprises a

total of eleven paintings, was created in a time that is to a large

extent accompanied by a loss of contact and touch; a period in

which digital connection has occasionally replaced physical

connection. In this present time – namely in the spring of 2021

– the Düsseldorf-born artist graduated with distinction in the

“TransArts” class at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.

She previously graduated in design from the Folkwang Univer-

sity of the Arts in Essen and in interior design from the Ostwest-

falen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Detmold.

It may be that the artist, who now lives in Vienna, already con-

solidated her colour-composing skills here, which are revealed

in the balanced polychromy of her later drawings and paint-
ings. In any case, her passion for ornamentation, surfaces and

two-dimensionality is particularly apparent: when the artworks

are viewed from a distance, the image of a continuous, repeat-

ing pattern often emerges, which in the meantime has even

served the Austrian fashion designer Romana Zöchling as a

model for her unusual garments.