Gabriela Oberkofler I Die Blätter des Zitronenbaums haben kleine Löcher. Es regnet rein.

Gabriela Oberkofler is dedicated to the major themes of our time. In her works, which range from delicate drawings to expansive installations, the artist reflects on the relationship between man and nature, the importance of biodiversity, the threat to natural and cultural spaces, and also on home, belonging and identity in the field of tension between personal and collective memory. The artistic practice is characterised by great stringency and depth of content, while the realisation is characterised by fragile sensuality and great visual appeal.

Drawing is an important medium for Oberkofler (‘meine brennende liebe’) in order to view her themes from a different perspective, to abstract what she sees and also to puzzle it. The delicate, delicate structures with seeds and flowers, fungi and insects that she puts on paper reflect her fascination with flora and fauna and their adaptation and survival strategies. The artist rejects a (too) clear interpretation: ‘We live in complex times, and this complexity must also be given space.’

In the new series of drawings ‘verkettungen’, many different actors are connected with each other: We see orchids, dandelions, meadow flowers, moss and grasses, a fire salamander, a brown trout and a seahorse, bumblebees, bees, hornets, butterflies and much more. In between, human organs – such as a heart, genitals, a skull, a finger – can be discovered again and again. ‘Each leaf shows a coherent ecosystem,’ emphasises the artist. In this view, we humans are an integral part of the overall structure and not just observers and influencers from the outside.

The large-format, two-part drawing ‘Vibration’ shows a fruit tree in all four seasons – it blossoms and withers, lives and dies at the same time. On closer inspection, we recognise not only branches, flowers and blossoms, but also limbs, skulls and bones. ‘Once again, the interaction between man and nature in a reciprocal relationship becomes visible,’ says the artist. ‘The human being is not at the centre, but is part of a life process between life and death.’

– Günther Oberhollenzer