Francien Krieg - Within Her Own Silence

This work is a woodcut with an irregular, cut-out contour. By using trompe-l’œil — literally ‘tricking the eye’ — parts of the face and the frame seem to lie at different depths. Shadows, edges and overlaps give the impression of protruding fragments and recessed planes. In this way the portrait takes on the character of a spatial wall piece. The image refers to classical European portrait painting, but disrupts its unity. The face and the frame seem to slide apart. What normally holds a portrait together becomes, here, part of the estrangement. With these works I explore how the image of women is shaped by beauty ideals and expectations. The frame also stands for the framework within which someone is expected to fit. The face does not fully conform to that: it remains present, but cannot be easily fixed. Francien Krieg

Estimate:£1,016.66

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