Manuela Mordhorst/ Minimalism

Manuela Mordhorst in an artist, living in Handeloh, Germany. Her artistic practice reflects the tension between internal and external structures and landscapes. Through intensive observation of nature, Mordhorst explores the surfaces, textures, and movements of vegetation, water, land, and sky. These elements become symbols of human processes of becoming and are documented in a diary-like format. Her practice incorporates self-made and collected pigments, stone powders, oils, sands, and papers, which she processes independently and employs across painting, ceramics, paper art, object art, and installation.

A recurring element in Mordhorst’s work is the circle, often positioned against a square background, creating a symbolic space of becoming and passing. These works, which she refers to in part as “pictorial objects,” are characterised by minimalist ceramic or paper surfaces that can be presented on canvas as well as wooden forms. Her broader body of work includes paper works and objects on both round and square surfaces, thematically connected to and extending her paintings, paper works, and pictorial objects. Through an ongoing dialogue between different forms and media, Mordhorst explores universal themes of new beginnings, shedding old skins, detachment, and renewal—processes that continuously shape her artistic practice.