Christine Matthai

German-born Christine Matthäi’s fascination with photography and film began during her early teens. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in Berlin, then moved to New York City in the mid-eighties, where she started as a photographer’s assistant. Later, she worked as a photojournalist and foreign correspondent for international magazines and newspapers.

Matthäi’s strong connections to the New York art scene stimulated and helped contribute to the exploration of her own artistic creativity. Over a decade ago, she decided to pursue her art photography full time. She moved to the East End in 1992. She now lives and works between the Hamptons, New York, Miami, and the Bahamas.

Matthäi’s work has appeared in shows at the Alex Ferrone Gallery, Cutchogue, NY; the Watermill Museum, Watermill, NY; folioeast, East Hampton, NY; Monika Olko Gallery and Tullla Booth Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY: ARC Fine Art, Fairfield, CT; ArtHamptons; Grand Gallery, Grand Bahama; Majestic Hotel, Dubai; Amarillo Gallery, Bologna, Italy; and Galerie Melior, Straubing, Germany, among others.

“I use photography as a tool to express my feelings and impressions. The original photographic images are digitally transformed so that colors and shapes turn into abstractions of the source image. 

My intention is to convey the feeling of losing oneself in space with no sense of time and place, which is similar to the practice of meditation. I often work with multiple layers to achieve the final image, which emerges from my subconscious.

My favorite subject has been water, a fascination that resulted in my Light and Sea series. This work consists of abstract visual meditations on the interplay of air, light and water, the shifting of colors and shapes from form to formlessness. In Light Meditations, the brushing light lines on the water’s surface turn into visual rhythms, repetitive strolls on lines and dots. 

With Musings on Words and Poetry, I incorporate repetitions of words and sentences from poetry and letters. The images pay homage to the vanishing word as a carrier of thought. The form of the square represents the four elements of fire, water, air and earth. I use the square as a sacred place to hold multiple layers of writings precious to me. The visual effects are similar to ancient hieroglyphs—an expression of my desire for timelessness and preservation.” 

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