Tonia Ackermann

"atelierszene", Painting, acrylic on canvas, 2009, 135 x 75 x 4 cm

"bartelsstraße", Painting, acrylic on canvas, 2008, 150 x 100 cm

"hinterhof", Painting, acrylic on canvas, 2005, 75 x 75 cm

"unterm dach", Painting, acrylic on canvas, 2005, 125 x 150 cm

"hausflur", Painting, acrylic on canvas, 2005, 150 x 175 cm

Tonia Ackermann takes a scene and fractures it into separate panels, each individually rendered. The pieces vary to greater or lesser degrees of color, perspective and even time, creating fascinating studies of the nature of observation. I think we've all seen something similar done with photography, most famously (though certainly not originally) by David Hockney. But approaching this in paint adds an element of depth, of heightened randomness. Like the abstract colored squares in Chuck Close's monumental portraits, one has the sense that each is created in reference to the whole but without reference to its neighbors, suggestive of the appearance of order from random processes. Breaking up the scene into smaller parts also naturally lends itself to a kind of fish eye perspective and some of the work, especially the 2009 piece "atelierszene", at the top, reminds me a bit of Gideon Bok's interiors. It's engaging work and the potential for further exploration is almost infinite. You can see more examples of her work here: http://www.artdoxa.com/Tonia. (She does not appear to have any other website and you must join this site if you want to contact the artist).