MY PATH INTO ABSTRACT PHOTOGRAPHY
- My talk at ARTCaffè Shanghai on March 12, 2021
I feel very honored that ARTCaffè invited me as presenting artist at its 59th ARTCaffè on March 12, 2021. A big thank you to Raffaella Gallo founder and owner of ARTCaffè Shanghai.
SUMMARY BY RAFFAELLA GALLO,
The 59th ARTCaffè went back to its living-room in Shanghai with Astrid Krehan. The event was also live-streamed, with people joining from 15 different Countries.
Astrid shared her artistic path into abstract photography, ignited by her passion for the media and nourished by her travels, her life experiences and all the sources of inspiration that brought her to incorporate different techniques into her shooting process.
She unveiled what’s behind her different series. Just to mention some:
China in Color, a hymn to the vibe of Shanghai;
Disorder, a reaction to the chaos that broke out in 2020 and the energy we had to put in to react to this new unknown (“Photographing to me is kind of therapeutic. It helps me diving into my own world and forgetting everything around me”);
Confusion, a description of the craziness of 2020 from the artist’s point of view and of her “journey of living with fear and overcoming that fear;”
Trapped, about the feeling of being stuck in a golden cage, while the pandemic is enraging in the rest of the world.
Lately, travelling in remote areas triggered her desire to raise awareness for the silent message of Nature: with its four series, Silent Message describes the essence, the power and energy of Nature and the importance to preserve its balance and its beauty.
“I’d like to encourage you to keep a free spirit for your own interpretation and communication with my images, because that’s the beauty of abstract art and that’s why I like to use it as a media of expression.” – AK
QUOTES OF THE TALK
“Looking at these Chinese characters inscribed into a wall in Hangzhou, I realized that the Chinese and the Western cultures, that most of the time seem so far apart, do have commonality.”
ETCHED
“One of Shanghai’s beauties are its lit buildings at night, they show the energy of a city that never sleeps…..”
SHANGHAI LIGHTS II
“In SHANGHAI LIGHTS I tried to visualize and capture the energy and pulse of this fascinating city”
“…the sudden impact of blurred reality, fear and confusion, the journey of finding away to live with…….
CONFUSION IV
….. and finally overcome the fear”