Breathless I

The initial approach to these pieces was to explore the idea of breathlessness in terms of being exhausted from verbal communication and not being able to articulate yourself…also being left breathless in awe of a partner. 

But following the last worldwide wave of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 after George Floyd’s murder, this image, for me, has simultaneously become quite poignant. His last words ‘I can’t breathe’ ring true now looking at these paintings.

At the same time I learnt of incidents where white people misuse their systematic advantages. I was particularly shaken by the incident of a woman In the United States calling the police on a Black man watching birds in Central Park, after he had asked her to put her dog on a leash. Her response was to take a picture of him and tell the police he had tried to assault her. A completely false statement.

When you have this knowledge, I don’t understand people when they say ‘I don’t see colour,’ in an attempt to avoid racism. Yes, it’s important to see individuals for their full humanity but in the face of the society we live in here in Germany, and where I used to live in the UK…as well as most other places in the world, I’d say…it’s impossible to see past the systematic injustices and ways in which people are stereotyped. It’s something I cannot and should not look past, especially as a white woman.

• Künstlername | artist name: Anne Bengard
• Vorname | First Name: Anne
• Nachname | Last Name: Bengard
• Email address: annebengard@gmail.com
• Mobile phone: +4915223099326
• Website URL: https://www.annebengard.com
• Address Line 1: Grunewaldstraße 15
• Address Line 2: 10823
• City: Berlin
• Zip Code: Berlin
• Country: Germany
• State: berlin
• Portraitbild | Portrait picture:
• Fotocredit | Photocredit: Petra-W.-Barathowa-@pwb-fotografie.de
• Künstler-CV | Artist Bio:

  Education:
  2007-2010: BA (hons) Performance Design and Practice (2:1), Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London

  Selected Group exhibitions:
  2023
  ‘ambivalent’ | Not A Gallery, Berlin
  Schöneberg Artists | The Ballery, Berlin

  2022
  Metawalls Berlin | The Embassy/Decentraland, Online
  Gekaufte Liebe | Not A Gallery, Berlin

  2021
  ‘Faces of Depth’ | Retramp Gallery, Berlin
  Berlin Mural Festival
  Game Over | Berlin
  ‘Fetish’ | The Ballery, Berlin
  ‘Art Safari’ | Kliemannsland, Elsdorf
  Stroke Art Fair, Munich
  ‘Mondo Bizzaro’ | Alte Münze, Berlin

  2020
  Future Binkhorst - VR painting installation | Trefpunt Rotterdamsebaan, The Hague, The Netherlands
  Spotlight on Anne Bengard | Sammlung Seibert, Berlin

  2019
  Modern Panic | Truman Brewery, London, UK
  Parkhaus Neukölln, Berlin
  Fabifa/Anne Bengard’s Praxis | Oberschöneweide, Berlin
  Fabifa/Anne Bengard | Bar Eigengrau, Berlin
  Light Noise Art | Zwei Drei Raum, Berlin

  2018
  Monumenta, Leipzig
  Berlin Mural Festival, Berlin
  Wandelism, Berlin
  Helmets for Habitat | Microsoft flagship store NYC

  2017
  WE ARE PART OF CULTURE, with 100% Mensch Hauptbahnhof and travelling to 20 major train stations around Germany
  THE HAUS | Berlin Art Bang, Berlin
  Enter Art Foundation, 50 Contemporary Artists | Berlin
  Take Over | Nau Bostik, Barcelona


  2016
  ‘Monster Madness’ | Slushbox Gallery, Florida, USA
  ‘Stopjectify’ | Gallery Different, London, UK

  2014
  Modern Panic VI | Apiary Studios, London, UK

  Statement:

  Anne’s work deals with issues around connection, intimacy and fetishisation, understanding the term ‘fetish’ in the context of behaviour, devotion, obsession and consumption.
Often borderline voyeuristic, her visual language uses polarities to explore social norms, stereotypes and aims to create a sense of tension and sensuality.
  Her works ask questions rather than make statements, often probing the subconscious.
Anne studied Performance Design and Practice at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design in London. She is a self taught painter influenced by 90s anime and old master paintings and pop surrealism. She can hold her breath for 5 minutes.

• Ich bin durch eine Galerie vertreten | I am represented by a gallery : Nein | No