Corina Gertz: The Averted Portrait

Corina Gertz photographs women from around the world wearing traditional national dress. Her focus is on the quieter side of the portrait the figure seen from behind. The individual remains hidden, so that information is conveyed only by the clothing. Splendid fabrics with sumptuous embroidery shine with sculptural and painterly intensity against a deep black background, captured in a clear, expressive composition. Her portraits tell tales of traditional wisdom, conventions, customs, and practices, reflecting Gertz's interest in the aesthetic, political, social, and cultural context. Text in English and German. Corina Gertz combines her work with travelling widely to create her averted portrait series that reflect her passion for the colourful diversities and cultural particularities of our world. Her main focus here is on clothing traditions, which, in the course of globalisation, are rapidly blurring into a uniform idea of beauty, to the detriment of individual expression. In this work, she emphasises the distinctions of our differences, which speaks strongly of her stand against intolerance towards others. Corina's independent projects are exhibited in international museums and galleries, and are available in book and film format. In 2013 and 2014 Corina gave lectures and workshops at the Art Academy Kunming, at the University for Art Xijing in Xi'an, and at the Technical University Hubei in Wuhan, China. Since 2015 she teaches at the College of Art and Design at Beijing University of Technology. Corina Gertz completed her studies in fashion design, pattern making and couture tailoring. She lived in Dusseldorf, Florence, Cape Town, and Hong Kong while she created collections for international companies e.g. Roberto Cavalli, Ton Sur Ton, Isabel de Mestre.... 130 colour illustrations