Karina Smigla-Bobinski

When Karina Smigla-Bobinski was in elementary school, her teacher confronted her with Malewitsch’s black square which inspired her so much that she decided to become an artist. She never let go of that goal and after graduating school she studied classical art in Cracow before moving to Munich to delve into a more abstract world of art.

Her passion for maths and physics inspired her to explore painting from a new viewpoint and to analyze its basics. She took a step back, dissolving her art from her objects to create abstract video installations. She invented spaces, movements and structures just with a computer and a projector. Her works were widely recognized as by that time only very little people actually created art with modern media, though Karina Smigla-Bobinski wasn’t satisfied as she felt her work was only accessible for a small and artsy audience. Though she wanted to work with the masses, which she did with Routes in 2002, leading her way from the galleries to the stages of the world. Together with the choreographer Helena Waldmann she created stage shows which was a completely new and exciting task for her. Her goal was to include the audience as an active part of the show instead of just have them watching.

As she tells us, she loves the thought that her work isn’t even working without an audience. Furthermore she loves huge artworks that can’t be locked away in a private collection in some cellar. She wants to communicate with her art, to inspire and invite to interact. As with her work ADA the first contact is often very intuitive and playful. If people want to go further and think about it is their own decision. Everything is possible, nothing is forced. For Karina Smigla-Bobinski art is a mirror of the real world. It can be serious and thoughtful, playful and funny, ironic or passionate though it should always be real an approachable by everyone. One of her most fascinating works was paradise for which she interviewed people, asking them about their own paradise and their idea of it. Her work Aquarium for which she turned Munich’s state theatre with its snobby guests into a goldfish bowl made us smile.

Currently Karina Smigla-Bobinski is working on various ideas, such as a piece exploring our behaviour with electronic data. We’re certainly curious for more to come and we’ll make sure to keep you updated.

Photography by Manuel Pallhuber, Interview & Text by Caroline Kurze