Barbara Hindahl

Lost Paintings
Wilhelm Hack Museum

Virtuoso Graphic Art

Barbara Hindahl’s (b. Duisburg, 1960; lives and works in Mannheim) graphic practice turns the spotlight on ostensibly minor details, on what we are apt to overlook or actively ignore. Wielding graphite and crayon pencils with Old Masterly skill, she draws puddles, dabs of paint, or dust bunnies, digital misprints or the backs of pieces of jotting paper with snippets of writing, symbols, diagrams showing through. Yet the photorealistic rendition of her motifs is not truly Hindahl’s aspiration. Upon closer examination, the objects she depicts disintegrate into a complex graphic microcosm that asserts its own reality. In fact, Hindahl’s works are characterized by a permeability of form as well content that challenges our perceptual faculties and opens up spaces for playful thinking.

In her exhibition Alles aus Liebe at the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Hindahl presented a selection from different bodies of work created since 2008, with a focus on two new series that made their public debut: BrushStrokes (2020–21) and Pfützen/Puddles (2022–23). The catalogue Lost Painting published in conjunction with the exhibition includes writings by Reinhard Ermen, Astrid Ihle, Els van Riel, and the artist.