An Energizing Conversation with Janaina Tschäpe
Janaina Tschape, Bocaina, Brazil, 2020 : Photographer: Eduardo Ortega
JANAINA TSCHÄPE is a Brazilian visual artist who received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Hochschule für bilende Künste, Hamburg, Germany, and a Master in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts, New York.
Janaina's artwork has been exhibited widely internationally at museums, galleries, and spaces such as the Catherine Bastide Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson, Galerie Xippas, Irish Museum of Modern Art, University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum, Sarasota Art Museum, Nichido Gallery, and elsewhere. She has also participated in artist residencies in Denmark, Portugal, Fiji, Galápagos, Brazil, and South Africa.
Her museum exhibition, “Soy mi propio paisaje,” at CAC Málaga in Spain, just closed on December 3. Her most recent museum exhibition, “Estrelas Conversando em voz Alta,” at Fundação Iberê Camargo in Porto Alegre, closed on February 18, 2024. She is currently included in a museum exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in St.Petersburg, FL, which closes on April 14, 2024.
She is represented by the Sean Kelly Gallery in New York, the Nichido Gallery in Tokyo, Fortes D’Aloia Gabriel in Brazil, and Bo Bjerggaard in Copenhagen.
I had the pleasure of asking Janaina about the influence of her education on her art process and how she creates a universe of sublime forms that shift between representation, fantasy, abstraction, and so much more.
UZOMAH: How does ecology play a role in your work? How do you use it to imagine a world at first that others might not see?
JANANIA: Nature has always fascinated and intrigued me. My interest was further emboldened when some time ago, I read Alexander Von Humbolt’s biography, which highlighted his attempts to intertwine art, literature, nature, biology, and science. His expeditions and correspondence, with Goethe, played a significant role in the Romanticism movement. This concept of the individual observing and celebrating nature is fundamental in my art. In my paintings, I strive to connect patterns and variations in light, drawing on the bond between our physical bodies and that of nature. It is relevant for imagining abstraction, for creating the dialogue between my brushstrokes and the canvas - this memory of my observation of nature. All this is essential to me. My paintings, in a sense, are a reflection of how we perceive certain aspects embedded in our memory and being. It embodies an ancestral understanding of our need for nature, our connection to it, and the importance of preserving and respecting it.
Whispering Mist, 2023 Oil and oil stick on linen 70 x 92 x 2 in 177.8 x 233.7 x 5.1 cm
U: How did you create a universe of sublime forms that shift between representation, fantasy, and abstraction?
J: Having painted since I was very young, I think, by now, I have created a collection of memories, shapes, forms, colors, and patterns that have come from my observations of nature. My experiences from my performances, my early work with photography and video, where I would create beings that were something between nature and human, where I created outfits and inflated balloons, these experiences all combined are now translated into my paintings. I shift between those memories and the physical memories of the brushstroke, combining them to a harmony and a breaking of harmony to create the paintings. With time, I hope to access more and more of those experiences, continuing to translate them in a gestural way. This idea that nature is ever-present and that we are part of it, aims to speak to the observers in a way that it extracts from them both conscious and subconscious memories of moments lived. This construct creates a link between the landscapes and our experiences, transforming how impactful painting can be.
Red afternoon (with sparkles), 2023 Oil and oil stick on lien 80 x 102 x 2 in 203.2 x 259.1 x 5.1 cm
U: You are known for your large-scale paintings. Can you describe how you translate what you visualize in your mind onto canvas?
J: My painting process originates from memory. When creating my large-scale works, I begin with broad brushstrokes that set the painting's tone, linking color schemes to natural-world observations, such as landscapes. I predominantly use extra-wide, flat oil brushes akin to those for wall painting. Their saturation allows uninterrupted strokes across the canvas. Broad, swift strokes ensure a continuous gesture, capturing the fluidity of the scene. This method echoes the ethereal nature of memory and imagination, where the boundaries of reality and dreams blur. By starting with these large, saturated strokes, I can create a canvas that is both a reflection of the natural world and a gateway into a more fantastical, abstract realm. It's this blend of reality and imagination that characterizes my work, inviting viewers to explore a world that is both familiar and wonderfully surreal.
Blue meadow (respirando azul), 2023 Oil and oil stick on linen 80 x 120 x 2 in 203.2 x 304.8 x 5.1 cm
U: What type of brushes do you use? Why do you choose them? How do they help you work better in creating the finished project you want?
J: I use regular brushes, sometimes wall paint brushes, wide and flat. Over the years I created an organic relationship to the brush where it functions as an extension of my hand. I do use my hand and even my arm a bit, too. It can often feel like a performance. The act of painting is a series of movements where it feels as if I am an extension - I am part of the brush - the brush is an extension of my hand - and my mind-, because I do feel like the mind due to all those years of practice, just speaks to my hand in a fluid way. There is then no more translation to it, but more of an automated version that goes onto the canvas. Basically, my memories and observations of nature get translated onto the canvas in an organic and unconscious way so that it’s fluid when I paint. This translation of my observation in nature of the forms and shapes is a dialogue with the mark-making that translates in one way the conceptual idea, but also an emotional idea, and it balances it out.
Awake, every second (estrelas conversando em voz alta), 2023 Oil and oil stick on canvas 78 3/4 x 157 1/2 in 200 x 400 cm
U: How does having a cultural background in being both German and Brazilian influence your work?
J: Although I was born in Germany, I moved to Brazil when I was one and raised in Sao Paulo. I spent much of my time and vacations in the countryside of Minas Gerais, where my mother’s family is from. As a result, I identify more with Brazilian culture, particularly as my connections to Brazil continue to be stronger today; I split my time between New York and Brazil, maintaining close ties with family and friends there.
I spent my teenage years in Hamburg, Germany, where I attended art school. This was pivotal in shaping my art practice. I was introduced to German culture, literature, and art, which significantly influenced me as a young artist. However, this experience also ignited a strong desire to reconnect with my Brazilian roots and understand my origin. My time in Germany made me aware of the challenges of establishing myself as a female artist in a predominantly male-dominated art scene. This realization was pivotal in my decision to return to Brazil and to explore other countries, seeking a space where I could assert my identity as a female artist.
Growing up in Brazil, I was immersed in a landscape where nature is dominant and overwhelming, a stark contrast to the structured environment I experienced in Germany. My childhood memories, filled with playing in the mud and exploring waterfalls, heavily influenced my artistic expression. These early experiences laid the foundation for my art practice, which was further expanded by my time in New York. Living in New York provided a broader perspective and allowed me to culturally and psychologically distance myself from both Germany and Brazil, adding depth to my influences.
U: How does art help you in other areas of your life?
J: It has been my partner since early on, a relationship that I nourish and respect; it's basically my life, and I build my life within that relationship. I paint every day. I relate to my environment through art; I live in the ‘Art World.’ My friends are mostly artists, or somehow related to the art world. It’s obviously very entangled in my life; however, it's a form of expression that I find hard to put into words, because the way I function is articulated through painting. Every day, I look forward to that dialogue with the canvas; it's an intimate and encouraging relationship that is like a never-ending discussion and struggle - like a marriage. Every day when I look at the blank canvas, I immerse myself into this universe where I have carved out a space. I am very fond of it, and it does help me to understand the universe around me. I do wish sometimes to extend that conversation to the public and have them participate in that non-verbal visual experience, where communication goes beyond all issues that we deal with daily, that it's a place that invites us all to communicate in a different way.
U: Can you discuss your latest exhibit and the preparation you went through?
J: My most current exhibition opened at the end of November at Fundação Iberê Camargo, a museum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It is a retrospective of the last 20 years of my practice; I've been working on this exhibition for a couple of years now with the curator, Luisa Duarte, a Brazilian curator and friend who has followed my work for the last 20 years. We often had dialogues about art-making processes and my own work. It was an amazing back and forth between us - of editing the artworks, selecting and installing the show. So, it's been a long journey to put the show together, especially because the show has only around 39 pieces, including the early photography to the last painting done in 2023. It was not an easy task to edit and select what would represent the last 20 years. The show includes photography, drawings, watercolors, and large oil paintings. The exhibition was on view until the end of February
Wrapping a Cloud Around You, 2023 Oil and oil stick on canvas 80 x 102 x 2 in 203.2 x 259.1 x 5.1 cm (JT2742.P23)
U: How has your education helped you in your career?
J: Reflecting on my education, I recognize its vital role in shaping my career despite some gaps that it left unaddressed.
It helped me realize where to position myself in the art world. I went to high school in Germany, where, at the time in the 90s, most professors were male. It was challenging to find my place as a female artist. Much of my being drawn to performance and photography was a search to find that place. I was often looking out for artists who were female, as well, because growing up, obviously, we were all surrounded by a lot of male artists. I started to look at artists like Carol Schneemann and, Hannah Wilke, and Marina Abramović to understand my voice my place to find myself in this context. At the time, I consciously decided to stop painting and devoted myself to performance. The process led me ultimately to return to painting as my main practice and to feel secure now as a painter. Additionally, it provided me with the opportunity to come to New York to pursue my master’s degree here. So, yes I do believe that it helped me in building my career, and especially to help me find my confidence in my voice as an artist.
For more information about Janaina's artwork and future shows, please visit her website here. Also she can be found on Instagram .
