CLOSE CLOSER CLOSED

Between closeness and isolation

Through painting, Dasha Minkina explores what it means to be human in our time. 

In an increasingly technological, digital and AI-orientated future, the meaning of being human is changing. The unique selling point of being human is shifting from rationality and logical thinking to emotions, social relationships and the physical body. In the exhibition "CLOSE CLOSER CLOSED", Dasha Minkina portrays a longing for closeness. 

Her semi-abstract, figurative oil paintings show intertwined people, but it is not about the people themselves. Rather, the artist wants to capture a feeling, both a global one and her own personal one. It is about the need for interpersonal closeness that we as a society have collectively forgotten. It is about our own humanity, which can be experienced through touch and intimacy, and about connecting with others by feeling what we have in common. The first of her group pictures was taken in 2021 during the lockdown, when only one person was allowed to be seen. Head to head, it shows a group of young people resting in the morning sun - a reminder of festival moments after a night of partying together, of a sense of community. 

In her current series "Strangers", Minkina shows familiar strangers: people cuddling at so-called cuddle parties, which are springing up all over the world. A social trend and testimony to the times in response to the need for physical presence around one's own body. The strangers intertwine in search of something deeper - a recognition of the self in the other, a reminder of our inherent need for understanding.

 "CLOSE CLOSER CLOSED" is a reflection on the status quo, in which the longing for connection persists against the backdrop of a fragmented society. The inspiration behind the exhibition is rooted in the artist's biographical background. A longing for connection and belonging accompanies the painter, who emigrated from Ukraine as a teenager, right through to her current artistic practice. Minkina's personal motif resonates with global social developments. Alienation through digitalisation, anonymisation and, not least, the pandemic are increasingly leading to inner and outer isolation. We are also living in a time of very little physical contact. In our culture, touch is closely linked to sexuality. We shake hands, perhaps hug each other, but anything beyond that often has sexual connotations - there is nothing in between. Yet the in-between is a place of longing, because it is precisely there that humanity becomes tangible. Touch is at the centre of Minkina's work in two senses. 

On the one hand, the motifs of her paintings revolve around interpersonal relationships; on the other, the paintings themselves are intended to be emotionally moving. They invite the viewer to feel themselves, to enter into an inner dialogue and to consciously perceive themselves as human beings. The exhibition shows numerous brand-new works along a small retrospective that illuminates the path of the artistic position.

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