Mimicry of nature

Caroline Laengerer transforms materials as diverse as porcelain, wire, flotsam and sand, plastic bottles, cable ties, and coffee pods into delicate objects with a unique aesthetic. They look like natural formations, sometimes resembling structures that have grown over time, reminiscent of root systems, flower calyxes, nests, or coral, but they do not replicate natural models. Instead, they play with the construction principles that our organic and inorganic environment produces through growth processes and weathering phenomena. They imitate nature, but not in their appearance, rather in their essence, pretending to be a natural part of our ecosystem, yet they are purely artificial creations. The works are full of contradictions in other ways too. They seem light and fragile, but are made of highly durable materials; both in their appearance and in the materials used, they draw on nature, but also incorporate foreign objects from industrial production—contrasts that perhaps seem less contradictory to us than they should, because they are omnipresent in our interaction with the world around us.

The relationship between humans and nature, the transformation of the earth by mankind, irreversible interventions, and the finiteness of our current lifestyle have long been subjects of interest to Laengerer, who was born in Isny in the Allgäu region of Germany in 1962. She succeeds in translating her conceptual approach into aesthetic objects and paintings that unfold their meaning independently, something that is far too rare in the art world. Today, the artist lives and works in Heidelberg. She studied painting at the Mannheim Art School and sculpture at the European Academy of the Performing and Visual Arts in Isny. Her award-winning works are not only regularly shown in exhibitions but are also represented in numerous public collections.

More about the artist: Caroline Laengerer's artist page