Karin Sander

Patina Paintings (Gebrauchsbilder) are ready-made canvases in standard formats that Karin Sander leaves at a selected location for a limited, defined period of time. Usually the artist choses environments that unavoidably leave their mark on the canvas: for example, gardens, cellars, or waterfronts. Over a period determined by the artist specifically for each piece, traces of the environment, like dust, stains, marks of rain, snow or earth, start to be visible on the canvas.

The titles of the works refer to the places where they were 'produced' acquiring its particular patina. In this case, the paintings were placed outside and on the facade of the exhibition space Le Plateau in March and April 2014 on the occasion of Sander's participation in an exhibition at FRAC Ile de France, Paris. Initially the project was planned for six weeks but had to be cut short when local residents complained. Previous Patina paintings have sometimes included drawings by passersby, but these works were apparently purposefully sought out by local graffiti artists and integrated into their urban interventions, creating vivid and colorful images.