The opposing impulses of creation and destruction mark the touchstone of Rita Ackermann’s practice, which continues to evolve and manifest itself in the shift from representation to abstraction.

Ackermann’s compositions occupy a space between the figurative and the abstract, where human forms simultaneously disappear and re-emerge. Her bodily works address issues of anthropomorphism and femininity. Frequently featuring nymph-like women and hints of fairy tales, her paintings examine adolescent ennui through a personal language of lush and gestural mark-making. Adopting a significantly physical approach to painting, she has explained that she creates her paintings through dance: “Sometimes I like when the gestures disappear — the brushstrokes, and gestures disappear — and it’s more just a well-conducted chaos of stains.”