THE CURTAIN AS A WORK OF ART IN A SPACE

Commissioned work by Andrea van Reimersdahl in 2017: Curtains for Leisure Center Concept Store in Vancouver

Leisure Center is a concept store focusing on fashion, art, music, books, accessories, cosmetics, food and drink in Vancouver. The total area extends over 2000m2 on two floors. Andrea van Reimersdahl drew up a design concept for curtains on both floors in consultation with London based architects. The curtains are made of three different fabrics, sewn together. The sewn surface was then individually screen printed by hand. The printing is based on abstract drawings of structures. Lines condense and disperse in motion. The perpendicular stitched surface is broken. Unprinted passages alternate with printed ones. The result is a fragmentary movement over the total width of up to 38 meters. The black and white contrast interacts with the transparency of the fabrics in combination with light and shadow. The textile material becomes a tactile and three-dimensional image. Its site-specific architectural function is daylight regulation and visual protection.

Andrea van Reimersdahl is an artist from Berlin and realizes installations and performances that communicate attributes such as volatility, transience and fragility in a spatial dimension. The aim is a subtle perception of space and time. The starting point is the abstract drawing. She often uses textile materials: whether static or flexible, textiles change the experience of space. They allow for fluctuating transitions between inside and outside. Due to their flexibility, they are space-creating. As a counterpart to the painting ground of a canvas, they can be image carriers. Their interplay with light, colours and structures enables the viewer to experience a special aesthetic sensory perception. In cooperation with architects and designers, the artist realizes textile installations and commissioned works as draperies, room dividers and curtains. www.van-reimersdahl.com

Photo: Katja Renner Photos of the working documentation, Cafe Moskau, Saal Moskau, Berlin   back to references