Colour between light and darkness: Regine Schumann

Regine Schumann (1961, Goslar, Germany. Lives and works in Cologne) started her journey in the art world studying from 1982 to 1989 at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig. In 1989, she became a master’s student of Roland Dörfler, while (from 1986 to 1994) she was a member of the artist group Freiraum, consisting of Frank Fuhrmann, Dieter Hinz, and herself. In addition to numerous scholarships and commissions for artworks in public spaces, she received the Leo Breuer Prize in 2006.

Through coloured acrylic panels, she explores the relationship between colour, light and architecture, offering to the viewers a true sensorial experience that is subject to changes depending on the luminosity of the environment and the perspective of perception.

Inspired by the “Farbenlehre” (Theory of Colours, 1810) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,selected works by Regine Schumann were presented in the exhibition “Goethe - Transformation of the world” at the Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn from the 17th May to the 15th Sep 2019.

In Italy, Regine Schumann is represented by Dep Art Gallery, Milan, that is promoting the artist in several projects and exhibitions.

The city of Milan, with its constant pursuit for innovation, is the perfect framework for the artist’s poetics and one of the most important universities in the world has understood the uniqueness of Schumann’s language: two wonderful pieces from Regine’s studio have been shown along with more of 100 artworks by fifty Italian and international artists at the Bocconi University, on the occasion of the 7th edition of the Bocconi Art Gallery.

The University artistic project has seen new growth due to the space designed by the Irish firm Grafton Architects, led by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara: artplays an essential role in the Bocconi University everyday life and Dep Art Gallery is exacting to take part in this project, expecting to see new works of Regine Schumann for the next edition of BAG too.

Regine Schumann’s first solo exhibition at Dep Art Gallery took place in 2018, curated by Alberto Zanchetta: “Colormirror” has brought a body of works of mid and large dimensions. As the curator says: “Regine Schumann’s works mark off a physical space that alters and redefines the environment in which they are contained. […] The disorienting effect of the fluorescence is achieved thanks to the synthesis of the front, rear and perimeter surface that absorb or reflect light”.

“It’s the material of the coloured and fluorescent acrylic glass that takes an important role in my work. The material used illuminates when light energy is supplied to it, whether in the form of natural daylight or artificial light. Differently coloured plates depending on the location lead towards a candling, laying, blending, and selection of the light itself.”

Regine Schumann, 2018

In her practice, Regine Schumann focuses on the effects of light caused by fluorescent materials; she also uses blacklight to complement other colours, creating a true emphasis in her room-specific installations, like an extension of the existing architecture into a new dimension.

The next occasion to see and experience Regine Schumann’s works is at Artefiera 2020 in Bologna (24th to 26th January), where the artist will have a solo presentation at our booth E 33 in PAD 15 in the main section of the fair: SAVE THE DATE!