Charlotte Posenenske

Charlotte Posenenske was a German conceptual artist and, later on, a sociologist. She began her artistic career after the end of World War II and first devoted herself to painting but from the early 1960s on, turned more and more towards a conceptual approach. During her short but highly productive career, she designed several series in different materials and shapes that were all intended to be reproduced indefinitely. Her work is characterised by its radically open and untethered nature. The D-series, which is shown in various iterations at Luleå konsthall and Havremagasinet, was first created in 1967 and would become her last. It consists of six so-called square pipes, whose basic shape is based on industrial principles like geometry, standardisation and mass production.

Posenenske’s intention was that the parts could be assembled in any number of ways. Each work, then, can be adapted to any given room or situation, and as such poses a challenge to notions of copyright and individual artistry. The composite elements become objects rather than sculptures. Posenenske imagined that a curator, custodian or even observer would join the parts and change an installation based on their own criteria. In that way the artist surrenders some of their authority to others. By selling her works unsigned, in an infinite edition and at cost price, she infiltrated and hijacked the capitalist mechanics of the art market. She wanted for art to be a social and communal act, accessible to a wide audience, rather than something created by individuals for individuals. Posenenske developed a kind of mass-producible minimalism which, through its embrace of simple geometric shapes, repetition and industrial production, rejected established formal and cultural hierarchies.

Coming from a deep engagement with the pressing socio-economic questions of the 1960s, after the political events of 1968 she proclaimed the inability of art to influence important social problems, and consequently abandoned her artistic career altogether. Instead, she turned to sociology, specialising in labour law and industrial work processes. Working in close connection with the trade unions, she remained active in this field until her death in 1985.

Charlotte Posenenske (1930, Wiesbaden–1985, Frankfurt).

Work

Serie D, 1967
Sheet steel

Location

Luleå konsthall
21.11–14.2

Work

Serie D, 1967
Steet steel

Location

Havremagasinet, Boden
21.11–14.2