The Archiv Charlotte Posenenske starts its three-part exhibition series Charlotte Posenenske B / C / D / DW / E – Schöne neue Plastik with Reliefs of the Series B and Series C. Visitors of the Archive get the opportunity to experience the concept of Posenenskes series, as well as her artistic development.

The Series B Reliefs

By Reliefs, thus words objects between surface and space, Charlotte meant the canted or arched objects made of sheet aluminum, elements which together form a whole from identical (sometimes also non identical) parts-or a continuable series. In Series B there are five types of elements: 1) convexly arched, 2) concavely arched, 3) convexly canted, 4) concavely canted, and 5) convexly canted with one short and one long side. All elements measure 50 x 100 x 14 cm, are sprayed all over in monochrome, matt RAL standard yellow, red, blue and black, and, unlike the sheet-steel Series A Reliefs, are weatherproof (only the concavely arched element is made of sheet steel for technical reasons). In contrast to the prototypes, these are unsigned mass-produced objects, i.e., they are a) reproduced (in series and not as a numbered edition), and b) the same elements were and are preferably hung, laid, or stood in rows. The serial configuration avoids the hierarchical composition.

In 2008, at the Galerie Mehdi Chouakri in Berlin we hung five yellow elements in arithmetical rows (successively doubling the space between them), suggesting a progression. However, combinations of non-similar but identical color elements are possible. The artist, for example, hung them up next to each other to form a sort of triptych. Elements with dissimilar colors were never combined. The breaking down into elements and the creation of series are the main features of this group of works. The elements in the Series B (and A) were derived from complicated previous works, multicolored folds whose application of paint is reminiscent of Pop Art and car bodies. It is not until these complex „Faltungen“ (Folds) were split up into individual parts that the Series A and B became elements in themselves. These multicolored, „jazzy“ Faltungen and Wölbungen-„Wellen" ("Waves") are in turn preceded by the „Plastische Bilder“ (Sculptural Pictures). The all-color Series B Reliefs were the first objects Posenenske positioned on their own in the space, in other words no longer considered merely wall objects. They, too, like the Faltungen before, reflected her origins in painting, as they arch or cant out of a right-angled surface-the former surface of the picture-into the room, and in color. At the same time, however, these objects also reflect the basic forms of any sculpture: convex arches and concave cavities. Thus these Reliefs are fundamental interim forms: in terms of painting, the use of primary chromaticity land thus the reference to color and painting at all), and, in terms of sculpture, arches and concavities. „The things I do are changeable, as straightforward as possible, reproducible ... I make series because | do not want to make individual pieces for individuals.“ (C. P.)

By means of this factory-like reproducibility, the artist was attempting to undermine the aura of originality and exclusivity that goes with a one-of-a-kind piece, as well as the corresponding market prices. The unsigned, though authorized reconstructions only differ from any other goods by virtue of the certificate. The few elements the artist still commissioned herself are signed „CP 67" in stencil and are and considered to be prototypes. The objects in the Series B have something in common with Minimal Art in that they are produced geometrically, are extremely simple, and are factory produced. What they also share is the fact that they address the difference between the objective properties of the objet d'art (shape, surface) and the manner in which it is perceived subjectively depending on the way the observer moves and the incidence of light (for example, the objectively identical RAL standard yellow of the Reliefs has a totally different impact on our perception). It goes without saying that differentiating between objective being and its subjective perception touches on a fundamental problem of epistemology.

The Series C Reliefs

The Series C Reliefs, which date from 1967, differ from those from Series B by virtue of reduction: there are no longer five types of elements but only one, and this is no longer in yellow, blue, red and black, but in RAL standard yellow. These Reliefs are slightly larger than those from Series B. They measure 40 x 40 x 125 cm and are convexly canted at an angle of forty-five degrees. Once again, these are serial objects. In the case of the convexly canted Series B Reliefs, the angle was determined by the width of the objects (fifty centimeters) and its distance from the wall. It would appear, however, that the artist chose the forty-five-degree angle, which plays an important role in the geometry of the triangle, for the sake of further objectification. In addition, compared with the canted Series B Reliefs there is also an advantage: whereas these were preferably hung in a row and their elements remained individual and did not really join together to form a whole, given their transverse sections, the Series C Relief can easily be combined with each other. The transverse section of the relief is a triangle with two sides of the same length, one ninety degree and two forty-five-degree angles. The Reliefs can therefore be positioned up to one seam apart in various formations. As such, the same parts of Series C cannot only be hung serially (as was the case in 1986-87 at the Galerie Paul Maenz in Cologne), but also combined into different, sometimes expansive formations (such as in the exhibitions at the Daimler Art Collection). Besides the serial arrangement, which in the case of the „Vierkantrohre“ (Square Tubes) is so important in terms of principle continuability, the artist never abandoned combination to form a whole. I would explain her restriction to the color yellow in the latter's strong luminance. The subsequent Series D, the sheet-steel Vierkantrohre, are the color of the material, i.e., the light itself determines the luminance of the surface, which the observer perceives as brighter or darker depending on his or her position vis-à-vis the object. In other words: in the case of the Series C Reliefs, the artist reinforces their presence by means of the color yellow. After this, she ultimately disassociates herself from color and thus from painting.

–Burkhard Brunn

Excerpts from: 
9. The Series B Reliefs, Burkhard Brunn, in: Renate Wiehager (Ed.), Charlotte Posenenske, 1930 – 1985, Hantje Cantz, Ostfildern, 2009, P. 58-63.
10. The Series C Reliefs, Burkhard Brunn, in: Renate Wiehager (Ed.), Charlotte Posenenske, 1930 – 1985, Hantje Cantz, Ostfildern, 2009, P. 64.