The colours change depending on the light

Franziska Zumbach is exhibiting her works at Galerie Renggli, and founds her inspiration for a series in Bangladesh.

"For me, every picture is an experiment," says Franziska Zumbach at the vernissage of her "Dhaka Gamsa" exhibition at the Galerie Renggli. In the past, her conceptual painting consisted of a wide range of variations of the smallest colour grids in geometric shapes. "These works were part of my investigations and research. I’m no longer so interested in that anymore," says the 63-year-old artist, explaining her painting strategy, which has changed over the past few years.

Her new series reflects this, and includes her most recently created colourful pictures of "Dahaka Gamsa", to which she was inspired on a study trip to Bangladesh. From the very beginning of her artistic activity, she was fascinated by textile fabrics and patterns, as she explains: "Many dresses there are decorated with abstract stripes of colour. This reminded me of the chain and weft system in the weaving mill. The frame in my pictures is thereby the connecting element." These stripes now appear transformed in her pictorial language in bright colours. It is also exciting to see how the different series correspond to each other.

Franziska Zumbach's works are created through a painting and grinding process.            Image: Roger Zbinden, Zug,

Coatings and grinding
The exhibits have all been created in the last four years, according to the artist, and she has been working on the "Inside out" series for some time now, where many layers are applied on top of each other. Through the painting and grinding process, the original wooden panel becomes visible again in a shadowy way. And, depending on the incidence of light, the colours change, and mother-of-pearl layers emerge – or a seemingly monochrome work can suddenly reveal fluorescent effects.

The composition with the vertical stripes is very special in the large-format works for “Shine”, for which the artist used very wide brushes in the wet-in-wet technique on canvas. She created the harmonious colours by mixing her own pigments with oil paints and alkyd resin. Franziska Zumbach literally radiates energy. She is in the studio almost every day, which is almost a central element for her.

"My pictures cannot be planned, but they give me the opportunity to process experiences, to reflect at the artistic level, and to act."

The artist, who was born in Zug in 1959, attended the School of Design (Schule für Gestaltung) in Lucerne, and has presented her works at many solo and group exhibitions, and some are also represented in public spaces. She received several scholarships and, in 1994, a federal scholarship.

The exhibition Dhaka Gamsa with paintings by Franziska Zumbach runs until 16 July at Galerie Renggli, Ober-Altstadt 8, Zug.