Rita Ackermann

Wiped Out Heroines (detail), 2014, Acrylic, chalk and spray paint on canvas

latest works

interview by OLIVIER ZAHM
photo by GENEVIEVE HANSON

All artworks copyright Rita Ackermann Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth

 

OLIVIER ZAHM — Why did you choose to use such a sensitive material as chalk for these works?
RITA ACKERMANN — Because it is fragile. Everything is fragile. Chalk isn’t meant to last and has no importance as a material. Its sole propose is to be erased after it has done the work.

OLIVIER ZAHM — Are the chalkboard paintings about disappearance, fading memories, time going by?
RITA ACKERMANN — Disappearance, yes — getting rid of something violently that I don’t want anyone to see. But by wiping it too hard, it becomes even more visible and curious looking. Those white or colored wash traces, with their tranquility, expose some…