Emotion and Atmosphere: Two Perspectives on Perception

Subjective Realities: What the eye sees does not necessarily correspond to reality. In a duo exhibition at the Murnau Art Association, two artistic approaches explore human perception in very different ways: Christiane Rokahr’s figurative painting engages in a fascinating dialogue with Günther Rau’s landscape paintings. In her paintings, Christiane Rokahr turns her gaze inward. Her works revolve around the human being—around emotional states, around the manifestation of feelings that can often only be hinted at. Layering, superimposition, and deliberate reduction condense her works into moments between presence and withdrawal. This gives rise to a visual language that less describes than makes the experience tangible. Günther Rau, who passed away in February, devoted his painting to the vastness and moods of various landscapes and their atmospheric qualities. His paintings do not document nature as a mere view, but capture its effect—as space, light, stillness, and movement: here, the landscape becomes a resonant space in which perception unfolds. The opening of Inner Life – Outer World will take place on May 1 at 6 p.m. in Murnau; the exhibition will run through May 16.

Christiane Rokahr, a painter living in the Weserbergland region who participates in the Art.Salon artist program, captures in her paintings the elusive in-between, the transformation, and the ambiguities. The artist’s works emerge through lengthy processes marked by pauses and periods of waiting, during which, in dialogue with the emerging work, shadowy states take on visible forms that allow viewers to make numerous associations. Placing people, with their experiences and perceptions, at the center of her artistic work is shaped by Rokahr’s many years of practice as a psychotherapist.

Kunstverein Murnau e.V.
Galerie am Gabriele-Münter-Platz
Burggraben 4
82418 Murnau
Opening hours:
Wed–Fri 2–6 p.m., Sat 11 a.m.–2 p.m.