Anna Lena Straube
Anna Lena Straube’s paintings radiate emotion and mystery, her figures moving through flickering, sometimes haunting narratives, their expressions and postures hinting at social webs and inner lives. Lushly rendered in the faded sepia tones and pastels of vintage photographs, the paintings feel like portals to another plane. In a sense they are acts of translation, re-inventing the truth of Straube’s photographic source material in the sensual, illusory language of paint.
Biography
Anna Lena Straube’s paintings radiate emotion and mystery, her figures moving through flickering, sometimes haunting narratives, their expressions and postures hinting at social webs and inner lives. We glimpse them—often but not always female—in the midst of parties, private moments, joyful and strange performances. Lushly rendered in the faded sepia tones and pastels of vintage photographs, the paintings feel like portals to another plane. In a sense they are acts of translation, re-inventing the truth of Straube’s photographic source material in the sensual, illusory language of paint.
The photographs that inspire Straube’s work are sometimes anonymous, discovered in the far reaches of the internet, and sometimes intimate, involving figures from her life. Her latest series, “Thinking About Eve,” draws in part from a dance performance she orchestrated at a park in Berlin. Straube directed the artists to move silently, in “mindful slow motion,” in an organic scenario in which “nobody knew what would happen, how the members would interact together, what kind of stories they would create. There was no time limit. No goal. Only here and now.” Many of her paintings in this and other series embody exactly this character of quiet individual freedom, a sense of immersion in a serendipitous but pivotal moment after which anything might happen: a moment of transcendence, an opening. As German writer Dorothée Bauerle-Willert has noted of her work, “The past and the imagined flow into the real presence of the picture…setting in motion a polyphonic perception of interpretation and meaning.”
Born in 1978 in Bremen, Straube studied at Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design in Kiel under artist Peter Nagel and has shown at galleries and museums throughout Germany, including the Women’s Museum in Bonn and Museum Pankow in Berlin.
Born
1978 Bremen, Germany
Education
1998 Abitur at the Free Waldorf School, Bremen
1998-1999 MA Sociology, Philosophy, Education, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
1999-2004 Fine Art, Muthesius Kunsthochschule Kiel with Professor Elisabeth Wagner and Professor Peter Nagel
2004-2005 Postgraduate studies in Art Therapy, HfBK Dresden with Professor Doris Tietze
Recognitions
2007 Scholarship from the State Chancellery in Kiel in the Künstlerhaus Kloster Cismar
2006 Sponsorship award from the state of Schleswig-Holstein for the fine arts
Valentine Rothe Prize (3rd place) Women's Museum Bonn
2005 Portrait commission for the mayor portrait of Dr. Otto Kelling, Kiel Town Hall
2002 Erasmus grant Faculdade des Belas Artes nu Porto, Portugal
Selected Exhibitions
2020 Discovery art fair, Galerie Bengelsträter, Frankfurt am Main
One-artist-show, Art Karlsruhe, Bengelsträter Gallery, Karlsruhe
2019 Multiplication, catalog , Bengelsträter Gallery, Düsseldorf
Discovery Art Fair, Galerie Bengelsträter, Frankfurt am Main
Current Cast, with Markus Desert (sculpture), Take Maracke, Kiel
Blickwechsel - neue Frauenbilder catalog , gallery von Braunbehrens, Stuttgart
One-artist-show, Art Karlsruhe, Bengelsträter Gallery, Karlsruhe
Mind the Gap, with Markus Desert (sculpture), art at Intersearch, Hamburg
2018 Discovery art fair, Galerie Bengelsträter, Frankfurt am Main
One-artist-show, Art Karlsruhe, Bengelsträter Gallery, Karlsruhe
Friendship - from the romantic salon to today's networks, Women's Museum Bonn, Bonn
Artspring central, Museum Pankow, Berlin
Hidden pages, Bengelsträter Gallery, Iserlohn
Voluntary Art Liaison Fo You, Berlin Prenzlauer Berg
The Beginning, Gallery Kunstraum B, Kiel
Artspring, Pankower Ateliertage, Remise of the old leather factory, Berlin
2017 Hidden pages, Bengelsträter Gallery, Düsseldorf
Session # 1, The Friendship Project with Jonas Marx, old leather factory, Berlin
Materia, Bengelsträter Gallery, Iserlohn
Artspring, Pankower Ateliertage, Remise of the old leather factory, Berlin
Season exhibition, Steinberger Galleries, Langenargen on Lake Constance
Art Karlsruhe, Bengelsträter Gallery, Karlsruhe
2016 Special exhibition, Anna Lena Straube Bengelsträter Gallery, Düsseldorf
Art Fair 21, Steinberger Galleries, Cologne
Materia, catalog, Bengelsträter Gallery, Düsseldorf
Art Karlsruhe, Galerie Bengelsträter, Karlsruhe
2015 Private connection, Kunstkaten Ahrenshoop, Fischland-Darß
Born to be wild, Art Tornow, Tornow / Brandenburg
Art Fair21 Cologne, Steinberger Galleries, Cologne
Art Karlsruhe, Galerie Bengelsträter, Karlsruhe
Nice to see you, Galerie Bengelsträter, Düsseldorf
50. Bunker exhibition, catalog, gallery in Bunker-D, Kiel
2014 Private collection, Galerie Bengelsträter, Düsseldorf
Finding Anna, Alte Lederfabrik, Berlin
Summer Exhibition, Steinberger Galleries, Weikersheim
Art Karlsruhe, Galerie Bengelsträter, Karlsruhe
2013 Renaissance-Rodeo, (with Heike Marie Krause) Art at Intersearch, Hamburg
Art Collection, catalog, Sparkassenakademie Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel
Art Karlsruhe, Gallery Bengelsträter / Steinberger Galleries
2012 Herzspiel, Galerie Läkemäker, Berlin
Dreiklang, Galerie Läkemäker, Fischland-Darß
Preview, Galerie Jamuschek & Partner and Galerie Läkemäker, Berlin
Feminine structures, one-artist-show, catalog, Steinberger Galleries, Art Karlsruhe
2011 Summer Exhibition, Steinberger Galleries, Weikersheim
Women and Vocation, Kunstverein Elmshorn
Season start, Steinberger Galleries
Weibsbilder, Galerie Z, Stuttgard
2010 Frauenzimmer, Gallery Uwe Sacksofsky, Heidelberg
24 Stars, Galerie Z, Stuttgart
Life, Love, Suffering - Images of Women by Contemporary Artists catalog, Bomann Museum in cooperation with the Kunstverein Celle, Celle
Flowers Galerie Bengelsträter, Düsseldorf
Ship and Crown, Parktheater Iserlohn with Bengelsträter Gallery, Iserlohn
The contemporary witness as an extra Gallery in Bunker-D, Kiel
2009 WeibsBilder, (Justine Otto, Natalia Berschin) Bengelsträter Gallery, Düsseldorf
Couples, with Volker Tiemann, catalog, Landtag Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel
Preview, Galerie Stewner, Lübeck
Rot, Gallery // Atelier Bettina Düesberg, Berlin
Palm Beach Art Fair, Wilde Gallery, Palmb Beach, USA
2008 Inventory # 1, Wilde Gallery, Berlin
New Talents, Bengelsträter Gallery, Iserlohn
Berlin List House Cumberland, Wilde Gallery, Berlin
Anna Lena Straube / Deborah Dimeglio / Hanna Jäger Galerie Stewner, Lübeck
Miami Art Fair, Wilde Gallery, Miami USA
Toronto International Art Fair, Wilde Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Wild animals, Wilde Gallery, Berlin
Without above, also below Kunstraum B, Kiel
2007 Scheinwelten, Culture Center Schloss Salzau
The children swim, the children roast, Kunstraum B, Kiel
56. Landesschau, catalog, Kulturzentrum Schloss Salzau
2006 Anna Lena Straube & Julia Slodowicz, catalog 12/2006 Ars Borealis, Sparkassenstiftung Kiel
Scratching the surface, (Julia Slodowicz) Galerie Arsprototo, Erlangen
Modern fairy tale, gallery in Bunker-D, Kiel
16. Art Fair, Women's Museum Bonn
Anniversary Exhibition, Richard Heizmann Museum, Niebüll
2005 Double-binding-messages with Juliane Melches, Kunstraum B, Kiel
Gun pictures Sponti-Hansa, Kiel
Gottfried Brockmann Prize, catalog, Stadtgalerie zu Kiel
Right into the Heart, Art Market Detmold
2004 But now!, (catalog) Ministry of Culture in Kiel
The entertainment whore, Muthesius Kunsthochschule zu Kiel
Volume 1999/2000, Kunstverein Elmshorn
2003 It Happens, (catalog) Umtrieb, Galerie für Gegenwart Kunst, Kiel
Alone for Two, Theater broken windows, Berlin
Apotheke Mitte, Berlin
2002 Portugease garden, Faculdade des Belas Artes nu Porto, Portugal
Mittendrin, Friedrichstrasse 20, 2nd floor, Berlin
2001 Class meeting, (catalog) Kulturzentrum Schloss Salzau
Konsumenta, Umtrieb, gallery for contemporary art, Kiel
Press
PRESS
Selected Artworks
Born
1978 Bremen, Germany
Education
1998 Abitur at the Free Waldorf School, Bremen
1998-1999 MA Sociology, Philosophy, Education, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
1999-2004 Fine Art, Muthesius Kunsthochschule Kiel with Professor Elisabeth Wagner and Professor Peter Nagel
2004-2005 Postgraduate studies in Art Therapy, HfBK Dresden with Professor Doris Tietze
Recognitions
2007 Scholarship from the State Chancellery in Kiel in the Künstlerhaus Kloster Cismar
2006 Sponsorship award from the state of Schleswig-Holstein for the fine arts
Valentine Rothe Prize (3rd place) Women's Museum Bonn
2005 Portrait commission for the mayor portrait of Dr. Otto Kelling, Kiel Town Hall
2002 Erasmus grant Faculdade des Belas Artes nu Porto, Portugal
Selected Exhibitions
2020 Discovery art fair, Galerie Bengelsträter, Frankfurt am Main
One-artist-show, Art Karlsruhe, Bengelsträter Gallery, Karlsruhe
2019 Multiplication, catalog , Bengelsträter Gallery, Düsseldorf
Discovery Art Fair, Galerie Bengelsträter, Frankfurt am Main
Current Cast, with Markus Desert (sculpture), Take Maracke, Kiel
Blickwechsel - neue Frauenbilder catalog , gallery von Braunbehrens, Stuttgart
One-artist-show, Art Karlsruhe, Bengelsträter Gallery, Karlsruhe
Mind the Gap, with Markus Desert (sculpture), art at Intersearch, Hamburg
2018 Discovery art fair, Galerie Bengelsträter, Frankfurt am Main
One-artist-show, Art Karlsruhe, Bengelsträter Gallery, Karlsruhe
Friendship - from the romantic salon to today's networks, Women's Museum Bonn, Bonn
Artspring central, Museum Pankow, Berlin
Hidden pages, Bengelsträter Gallery, Iserlohn
Voluntary Art Liaison Fo You, Berlin Prenzlauer Berg
The Beginning, Gallery Kunstraum B, Kiel
Artspring, Pankower Ateliertage, Remise of the old leather factory, Berlin
2017 Hidden pages, Bengelsträter Gallery, Düsseldorf
Session # 1, The Friendship Project with Jonas Marx, old leather factory, Berlin
Materia, Bengelsträter Gallery, Iserlohn
Artspring, Pankower Ateliertage, Remise of the old leather factory, Berlin
Season exhibition, Steinberger Galleries, Langenargen on Lake Constance
Art Karlsruhe, Bengelsträter Gallery, Karlsruhe
2016 Special exhibition, Anna Lena Straube Bengelsträter Gallery, Düsseldorf
Art Fair 21, Steinberger Galleries, Cologne
Materia, catalog, Bengelsträter Gallery, Düsseldorf
Art Karlsruhe, Galerie Bengelsträter, Karlsruhe
2015 Private connection, Kunstkaten Ahrenshoop, Fischland-Darß
Born to be wild, Art Tornow, Tornow / Brandenburg
Art Fair21 Cologne, Steinberger Galleries, Cologne
Art Karlsruhe, Galerie Bengelsträter, Karlsruhe
Nice to see you, Galerie Bengelsträter, Düsseldorf
50. Bunker exhibition, catalog, gallery in Bunker-D, Kiel
2014 Private collection, Galerie Bengelsträter, Düsseldorf
Finding Anna, Alte Lederfabrik, Berlin
Summer Exhibition, Steinberger Galleries, Weikersheim
Art Karlsruhe, Galerie Bengelsträter, Karlsruhe
2013 Renaissance-Rodeo, (with Heike Marie Krause) Art at Intersearch, Hamburg
Art Collection, catalog, Sparkassenakademie Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel
Art Karlsruhe, Gallery Bengelsträter / Steinberger Galleries
2012 Herzspiel, Galerie Läkemäker, Berlin
Dreiklang, Galerie Läkemäker, Fischland-Darß
Preview, Galerie Jamuschek & Partner and Galerie Läkemäker, Berlin
Feminine structures, one-artist-show, catalog, Steinberger Galleries, Art Karlsruhe
2011 Summer Exhibition, Steinberger Galleries, Weikersheim
Women and Vocation, Kunstverein Elmshorn
Season start, Steinberger Galleries
Weibsbilder, Galerie Z, Stuttgard
2010 Frauenzimmer, Gallery Uwe Sacksofsky, Heidelberg
24 Stars, Galerie Z, Stuttgart
Life, Love, Suffering - Images of Women by Contemporary Artists catalog, Bomann Museum in cooperation with the Kunstverein Celle, Celle
Flowers Galerie Bengelsträter, Düsseldorf
Ship and Crown, Parktheater Iserlohn with Bengelsträter Gallery, Iserlohn
The contemporary witness as an extra Gallery in Bunker-D, Kiel
2009 WeibsBilder, (Justine Otto, Natalia Berschin) Bengelsträter Gallery, Düsseldorf
Couples, with Volker Tiemann, catalog, Landtag Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel
Preview, Galerie Stewner, Lübeck
Rot, Gallery // Atelier Bettina Düesberg, Berlin
Palm Beach Art Fair, Wilde Gallery, Palmb Beach, USA
2008 Inventory # 1, Wilde Gallery, Berlin
New Talents, Bengelsträter Gallery, Iserlohn
Berlin List House Cumberland, Wilde Gallery, Berlin
Anna Lena Straube / Deborah Dimeglio / Hanna Jäger Galerie Stewner, Lübeck
Miami Art Fair, Wilde Gallery, Miami USA
Toronto International Art Fair, Wilde Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Wild animals, Wilde Gallery, Berlin
Without above, also below Kunstraum B, Kiel
2007 Scheinwelten, Culture Center Schloss Salzau
The children swim, the children roast, Kunstraum B, Kiel
56. Landesschau, catalog, Kulturzentrum Schloss Salzau
2006 Anna Lena Straube & Julia Slodowicz, catalog 12/2006 Ars Borealis, Sparkassenstiftung Kiel
Scratching the surface, (Julia Slodowicz) Galerie Arsprototo, Erlangen
Modern fairy tale, gallery in Bunker-D, Kiel
16. Art Fair, Women's Museum Bonn
Anniversary Exhibition, Richard Heizmann Museum, Niebüll
2005 Double-binding-messages with Juliane Melches, Kunstraum B, Kiel
Gun pictures Sponti-Hansa, Kiel
Gottfried Brockmann Prize, catalog, Stadtgalerie zu Kiel
Right into the Heart, Art Market Detmold
2004 But now!, (catalog) Ministry of Culture in Kiel
The entertainment whore, Muthesius Kunsthochschule zu Kiel
Volume 1999/2000, Kunstverein Elmshorn
2003 It Happens, (catalog) Umtrieb, Galerie für Gegenwart Kunst, Kiel
Alone for Two, Theater broken windows, Berlin
Apotheke Mitte, Berlin
2002 Portugease garden, Faculdade des Belas Artes nu Porto, Portugal
Mittendrin, Friedrichstrasse 20, 2nd floor, Berlin
2001 Class meeting, (catalog) Kulturzentrum Schloss Salzau
Konsumenta, Umtrieb, gallery for contemporary art, Kiel
Anna Lena Straube’s paintings radiate emotion and mystery, her figures moving through flickering, sometimes haunting narratives, their expressions and postures hinting at social webs and inner lives. We glimpse them—often but not always female—in the midst of parties, private moments, joyful and strange performances. Lushly rendered in the faded sepia tones and pastels of vintage photographs, the paintings feel like portals to another plane. In a sense they are acts of translation, re-inventing the truth of Straube’s photographic source material in the sensual, illusory language of paint.
The photographs that inspire Straube’s work are sometimes anonymous, discovered in the far reaches of the internet, and sometimes intimate, involving figures from her life. Her latest series, “Thinking About Eve,” draws in part from a dance performance she orchestrated at a park in Berlin. Straube directed the artists to move silently, in “mindful slow motion,” in an organic scenario in which “nobody knew what would happen, how the members would interact together, what kind of stories they would create. There was no time limit. No goal. Only here and now.” Many of her paintings in this and other series embody exactly this character of quiet individual freedom, a sense of immersion in a serendipitous but pivotal moment after which anything might happen: a moment of transcendence, an opening. As German writer Dorothée Bauerle-Willert has noted of her work, “The past and the imagined flow into the real presence of the picture…setting in motion a polyphonic perception of interpretation and meaning.”
Born in 1978 in Bremen, Straube studied at Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design in Kiel under artist Peter Nagel and has shown at galleries and museums throughout Germany, including the Women’s Museum in Bonn and Museum Pankow in Berlin.
Biography
Press
Anna Lena Straube’s paintings radiate emotion and mystery, her figures moving through flickering, sometimes haunting narratives, their expressions and postures hinting at social webs and inner lives. Lushly rendered in the faded sepia tones and pastels of vintage photographs, the paintings feel like portals to another plane. In a sense they are acts of translation, re-inventing the truth of Straube’s photographic source material in the sensual, illusory language of paint.
Anna Lena Straube
Anna Lena Straube’s paintings radiate emotion and mystery, her figures moving through flickering, sometimes haunting narratives, their expressions and postures hinting at social webs and inner lives.
Lushly rendered in the faded sepia tones and pastels of vintage photographs, the paintings feel like portals to another plane. In a sense they are acts of translation, re-inventing the truth of Straube’s photographic source material in the sensual, illusory language of paint.
Anna Lena Straube’s paintings radiate emotion and mystery, her figures moving through flickering, sometimes haunting narratives, their expressions and postures hinting at social webs and inner lives. Lushly rendered in the faded sepia tones and pastels of vintage photographs, the paintings feel like portals to another plane. In a sense they are acts of translation, re-inventing the truth of Straube’s photographic source material in the sensual, illusory language of paint.