Katharina Wulff's Retrospective 'Arabesken in Arabesken' at Kunsthalle Baden-Baden Explores Dreamscapes

A comprehensive retrospective of Berlin-born painter Katharina Wulff, titled 'Arabesken in Arabesken,' is currently on view at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden. Curated by Christina Lehnert, the exhibition features approximately 40 works spanning from 2002 to 2016, including pieces like 'Landschaft für glückliche Hexen' (2008) and 'Der Waldspaziergang' (2002). Wulff, born in 1968, creates paintings that merge magic and reality, drawing from psychological depths, dreams, and memories. Her works often incorporate ornamental motifs, such as arabesques, which she uses to explore deeper psychic themes rather than mere decoration. The exhibition highlights her technique of blending everyday fragments, emotions, and unconscious desires into enigmatic scenes that resist clear interpretation. Notable paintings include 'Zwei ernsthafte Damen' (2003), 'Der Tagträumer' (2005), and 'Grand Hotel Tazi' (2016), the latter depicting a historic hotel in Marrakech, a city that has served as Wulff's second home alongside Berlin. The show emphasizes how her art evokes the inscrutability of life's mysteries, with images that appear both strangely realistic and puzzling. Wulff's earlier exhibition, 'La décoration de l’âme,' referenced the concept of soul decoration, tying beauty to psychological origins. The retrospective underscores her unique ability to intertwine the uncanny and the beautiful, creating immersive visual experiences that challenge perceptions of time and natural laws.