Let the Distance keep us Together

Walter Dahn passed away on November 7, 2024, just a few days after the opening of his solo exhibition ‘Have Love Will Travel’ at Haus Mödrath on October 20. We had the great privilege of experiencing a particularly wonderful and intensive preparation and build-up phase with Walter. In countless conversations, he repeatedly referred to his time as a teacher in Braunschweig - above all because of ‘his’ students. He was in intensive dialogue with some of his students. It was always about art, music and film. Always ‘at eye level’, as Walter constantly emphasised. For years, even decades. ‘Let's see’, “look here” or “what do you think of this...” - this is how the exchange, the mutual interest, the expression of mutual appreciation often began. They were more, much more than just his ‘students’. For Walter, they were fellow artists with equal rights. But more than that, they were his friends, actually already part of his family, an integral part of his cosmos.

And we can now bring these close student family friends together again in a small series of exhibitions. With genuine enthusiasm and conviction, they all agreed spontaneously. They are sure that Walter would love it. And because Walter Dahn's exhibition will run for another eight months until the end of August 2025 at Haus Mödrath, we have the fantastic opportunity to showcase one of these artists every month in our studio in the basement.
 

ANNA VIRNICH

Anna Virnich is known for textile images that explore the interplay between materiality, abstraction and the body. By deconstructing fabrics and garments, she transforms them into speculative narratives that challenge the boundaries between the tangible and the intangible - in lucid tableaux that move between object and painting. In her most recent series Fertilizer (2024), Virnich combines fragmented forms from graffiti with abstract landscapes and emphasises the porous nature of images. Her hand-sewn, collage-like works are usually created without the direct act of painting, but she nevertheless makes use of it, for example through the careful manipulation of texture, colour and light.

Anna Virnich was born in Berlin, where she now lives and works. She completed her studies in 2014 as a master student of Walter Dahn at the HBK Braunschweig.