Exhibition

Annegret Soltau is one of the most important feminist artists of our time. Since the 1970s, she has been exploring questions of personal and social identity, reflecting on her position as a woman within the construct of her own family.

On the occasion of her 80th birthday, the exhibition »Annegret Soltau FATHER SEARCH« at the Kunstforum der TU Darmstadt presents two central series of works by Annegret Soltau in a special constellation: The work »Father Search« (1988–present) is shown in its entirety and documents Annegret Soltau's search for her father, whom she never knew.

In contrast, the series »Daily Diagrams« is on display for the first time—58 individual sheets that the artist kept as a visual diary during her first pregnancy in 1977, using felt-tip pens, watercolors, and a typewriter on simple DIN A4 sheets. In them, the artist sketches her own emotional states and conditions, but also her relationships with other people, in a very open manner.

Both series invite visitors to explore them sheet by sheet.

The 69 pages of the work »Father Search« extend into the room like a seemingly endless drawer of a filing cabinet. The series summarizes the story of Annegret Soltau's search for her father, whom she never knew. Although it was never discussed in the family, the question of her father's identity has always preoccupied her. She therefore began collecting information about him at an early age. Her mother only gave her a name and a single photo of him. In 1988, Soltau contacted an official search agency for the first time. Since then, she has repeatedly made various attempts to find out more about her father.

In view of the countless sobering replies, she decided in 2003 to transform the collected material into an artistic work, which she continues to this day. To this end, Soltau uses various self-portraits, from which she tears out her face and sews the collected documents onto the cut-out area with needle and thread.

During her first pregnancy in 1977, Annegret Soltau began to note down and draw what was on her mind every day for a year on sheets of A4 paper. This continuous exploration resulted in the 58 sheets of the series »Daily Diagrams«, executed with felt-tip pen, watercolor, and typewriter. Precisely because the Daily Diagrams show no direct physicality whatsoever, they are among the artist's most intimate works. In contrast to the works Soltau intended for public viewing, they allow a glimpse behind the façade of the complex system that is Annegret Soltau. In them, the artist sketches her own emotional states and conditions, but also her relationships with other people, in a very open manner.

With her Daily Diagrams, Soltau attempts a daily phenomenological self-analysis, starting from herself and her own perception. Soltau contrasts the concrete imagery of typewriter text with a color-emphasized, often abstract visual level. The small drawings, colored lines, and watercolor surfaces contrast with the typed words and capture the human being in all their physical and sensual dimensions.

The »Daily Diagrams« were created at the same time as the »Schwanger« (Pregnant) series of works and initially focus on the desire to have children, later accompanying the pregnancy itself. Annegret Soltau was one of the first female artists of the 20th century to make pregnancy a central theme in her work—also with the political intention of proving that a woman can be both an artist and a mother. Today, she is celebrated for her work as a pioneer of the feminist avant-garde.