In her custom-designed Berlin studio, visual artist Katharina Grosse reflects on a life spent following her own path in painting
Known for her monumental, site-related installations and vivid spray-painted environments, Berlin-based artist Katharina Grosse has long challenged conventional ideas of what painting can be – and where it belongs. Whether working with unstretched canvases, entire buildings, or urban landscapes, she approaches each surface as a terrain of possibility, inviting Art Basel to witness the impulse behind her process in a new episode of Meet the artists.
“I think our ability to constantly negotiate new perspectives is so much more entertaining – and fun – and also proposes alternatives. That’s what we do as artists anyway: we propose alternatives to existing models of perception.”
From Grosse’s custom-built Berlin studio, director Maximilan Andereya profiles the artist as she prepares for her largest public work to date, showing at Messeplatz during Art Basel in June. Occupying the plaza with a sprawling and ephemeral urban painting, Grosse expands her belief that painting doesn’t have to last to be powerful – altering our perception of pre-existing spaces, if only temporarily.
Speaking candidly about solitude and the power of scale, she reflects on formative experiences of painting outdoors, and works developed while alone in New Zealand – considering how canvases created away from outside influence acquire new context once exposed to an audience. Painting with speed, yet daubed with philosophical meaning, Grosse has found an expressive channel through which to communicate her own understanding, while inviting new interpretation – as a way to challenge fixed ideas of image-making, and a means of proposing alternatives.
Katharina Grosse is represented by Gagosian (New York, Basel, London, Hong Kong, Paris, Rome), Max Hetzler (Berlin, London, Paris), and Galerie nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder (Vienna). The Messeplatz project will be visible during Art Basel in Basel, from 19 – 22 June 2025.
About Nowness
NOWNESS is a movement for creative excellence in storytelling celebrating the extraordinary of every day. Launched in 2010, NOWNESS’ unique programming strategy has established it as the go to source of inspiration and influence across art, design, fashion, beauty, music, food, and travel. Our curatorial expertise and award-winning approach to storytelling is unparalleled. We work with exceptional talent, and both established and emerging filmmakers, which connects our audience to emotional and sensorial stories designed to provoke inspiration and debate.