The dazzling relationship between art and alchemy is no secret: the ‘transformation of raw, unprocessed materials into more refined states’ (Oliver Seifert, 2012) is not only found in the alchemist's laboratory, but also in the contemporary studio. The experimental and processual aspect in particular is an integral part of most works of art today. The young painter Anna-Belén Siegmann (1997) from London feels a special affinity with alchemy. So much so that she has labelled her latest solo exhibition at the Melbye-Konan Gallery in Hamburg ‘secret art’.
The artist, who studied at the Royal College of Art in London and was awarded the Lucy Halford Scholarship this year, uses not only acrylic paints in her works, but also copper, gold, pigments, ammonia and water. On her latest canvases, she creates natural patterns reminiscent of flora or fauna, merging chance and control in the process. In this way, Belén, as she calls herself by her artist's name, traces a nature on the picture surface that is as intrinsic as it is recognisable. This painterly alchemy can also be experienced in the space in front of the painting, from the audience's perspective.
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