Kate Newby, ‘I’m asking’ at Museum Folkwang

For her site-specific installation at the Museum Folkwang, New Zealand artist Kate Newby (born 1979) chose the transition between the museum building, opened in 1960, and the 2010 extension. Both sections of the building are characterized by the formal language of modernist architecture, distinguished by clean lines, rectangular courtyards, and expansive glass facades. 

Glass and concrete, the building materials of modernism, form the starting point of Newby’s work. In her hands, they become fragile, malleable materials, into which she literally leaves her mark. On two glass panes facing the courtyard, she has fused vertical, hand-drawn lines and numerous fingerprints into the glass. The three-dimensional structures of the glass work,  Good Sound , react to light and movement, changing their appearance throughout the day depending on the angle of the light and the viewer’s perspective. 

The lines of the glass work continue in the concrete work  I’m asking on the lawn of the outdoor space. As bright, textured concrete lines, they extend through the courtyard and disappear behind two small hills. Visible traces of the workmanship also point to the manufacturing process. The two works are complemented by glass fragments from the museum’s surroundings, which Newby has integrated into the concrete. These create a further connection between the museum’s interior and exterior spaces.

Newby’s works subvert the building’s clear aesthetic. They appear raw, casual, and unassuming, blending so naturally into their environment that they are not immediately recognizable as artworks. It is precisely this that sharpens our perception of the overlooked and opens up poetic reflections on places, materials, and everyday perception.

Kate Newby is represented by Lett Thomas in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, New Zealand

To find more exhibitions around the world by New Zealand artists, visit ArtNow.NZ