SMILE!

Since early childhood, artist Vanessa Küstner was surrounded by creative and artistic people. Some of her family members stood out as exceptionally talented painters through early generations. By experimenting with different materials and techniques, Küstner has already created her particular style in a very short time. The artist describes her large-scale works as a mix of different techniques, starting from Expressionism, Symbolism but also Futurism and Surrealism. At first glance, Vanessa Küstner's artworks seem to give an almost childish, naive, innocent expression but always with a deeper psychosocial meaning: "During painting, I am in my world of thoughts, I am thinking and creating philosophical theories; which is the main activity. Painting to me feels just like moving my hand, it’s like walking. Most of the time I am not very concentrated on creating lines and shapes, it happens automatically and effortlessly, it's the most relaxing thing". Vanessa Küstner has lived in various cities such as Munich, Beijing, and Antwerp. It seems as though the time she spent in Asia has influenced her work the most. Since she refuses to paint realistic, the big round forms and bright colors give the impression of being and remaining a child. "I often strive to include the opposites of darkness, cruelness, desperation, bad, and on the other side childish, innocent, and naive impressions together. For example, I paint scared or bad expressions on my figures' faces but compensate the cruel impression with bright colors and clear, simple forms". This is a parallel to Japanese art, which the artist describes as one of her favorite artistic styles. The title of the exhibition represents the opposite idea of what Küstner's works reflect, as some figures appear desperate or sad. It is an invitation to get together and SMILE!