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[...] The effect of Bettina Hachmann's painting is immediate. Much of what the artist, who comes from Geldern, processes in her works seems at first glance to be of natural origin. Vague memories of landscape impressions arise, seemingly familiar forms with representational connotations make us think of found objects from nature. The disturbance causes something else: there are deep, precise cuts, makeshift patched holes, wafer-thin torn paper, filigree lines, fine webs and interwoven nets - as abstract as they are expressive. Everything follows a mysterious system, a secret law of nature. When we meet, the artist explains her technique and I don't have to ask twice and stroke the surfaces of the paintings. They are surprisingly smooth, almost delicate, my fingertips feel infinitely thin layers, minimal elevations and barely noticeable structures. I clearly feel the physical reflex to wipe away dirt as my hand strokes a surface with a grainy, blotchy texture. The haptic experience subverts my expectation of impastoed colour structures and jagged canvases. Depending on the incidence of light, some sections have a metallic or mineral sheen. [...]
Dr Katrin Boskamp-Priever: Introductory words to the interview:
Tracks, from the monograph, Layer by Layer, published by Hirmerverlag.
