While Anna Grau draws on diverse themes, the feminine is most often found at the centre of her art—she sees it as the leitmotif of her work. In this respect, female archetypes exert a special attraction for her; above all the figure of Lilith as the oft-misunderstood »dark antagonist« of Eve. The artist has dedicated an entire portrait cycle of her large-format oil paintings, presented in the style of the Old Masters, to Lilith’s multifaceted nature.
Possibly the most striking feature of Anna Grau's art is the degree of inner harmony found in each of her paintings. Whether depicted against a dark background or embedded within a composition, her figures radiate a sovereign calmness, often nonetheless evoking a sense of subliminal tension. It is through these seemingly contradictory dynamics that the magical realism of Anna Grau's work gains its intensity. Hence, it matters not whether the figure looks directly at the viewer, or whether she has her gaze turned away: the connection is always intimate.
Biography
Born in Moscow in 1980, Anna Grau spent her childhood and youth in Saint Petersburg, where she attended an art school from 1990 to 1994. The following year she
moved to Germany as an expatriate and has lived in Berlin ever since. From 1997 onward she took private lessons for four years in the renowned Posin art salon, and then studied from 2001 to 2007
at the Weißensee School of Art. Since 2008 Anna has been living as a freelance painter. Her works have found their way into numerous collections, among others, the one of the bene
Foundation.
Awards
2019 Großenhain Art Award, 3rd price, Großenhain
2018 Heise Art Award, Dessau-Roßlau
2016 22nd Andreas Art Award, »Natur-Mensch«, Sankt Andreasberg
2015 26th Eisenturm Art Award, »Kollaps der Moderne?«, Mainz
2013 Audience Award 2012, »Natur-Mensch«, Sankt Andreasberg
Exhibitions
2024 soon..bene Foundation Collection, Deutscher Pavillon, Expo 2000, Hannover
2023 International Group Exhibition, NordArt 2023, Kunstwerk Carlshütte, Büdelsdorf
2023 Solo exhibition, Private Gallery, Örebro, Sweden
2022/23 Solo exhibition, Galerie Wohnraum 16, Kiel
2022 Solo exhibition, DenkmalKunst–KunstDenkmal Festival, Hann. Münden
2021/22 Solo exhibition, Private Gallery, Örebro, Sweden
2021 »Berlin chose me«, group exhibition, Living Gallery, Berlin
2021 RE-ART MEETS KULTURERBE 2021, group exhibition, RE-ART Halle Ihlienworth, Ihlienworth
2021 »Das Geheimnis
der Sehnsucht«, solo exhibition, TRAFO-galleries 1+3, Brandenburg, Regenmantel
2020 »Kommen Sie nach Hause 18«, group exhibition, Köln
2020 »Kommen Sie nach Hause 18«, group exhibition, Heidelberg
2020 »Versus: Wand gegen Wand«, group exhibition, BAS Art Space Gallery, Berlin
2020 »Human Distancing«, group exhibition, Gallery Kunstwerkberlin, Berlin
2020 »Fifty/fifty. The Matter Of Duality«, group show, Paul-Fleischmann-Haus, Berlin
2019 »Lilith«, solo exhibition, Private Gallery, Örebro, Sweden
2019 Auktion »Today. Berlin. Art II«, organized by Kabinett Auktionshaus & Antiquitäten GmbH, Berlin
2019 »Hauptsache die Haare schön«, group exhibition, Kulturhaus Mestlin, Mestlin
2019 Group exhibition, Großenhain Art Award, 3rd price, Großenhain
2019 »Unterwegs..wohin«, group exhibition, nominated for the Sparkasse-Karlsruhe Art Award
2018 »Zeit.los!«, group exhibition, winner of the Heise Art Award, Dessau
2018 »Die Welt..aus den Gefugen geraten«, group exhibition, nominated for the Sparkasse Karlsruhe Art Award
2018 Group exhibition, Löwenpalais-Stiftung Starke, Grunewald-Berlin
2017 »Natur-Mensch«, group exhibition, Rathaus Scheune, Sankt Andreasberg
2017 International Group Exhibition, NordArt 2017, Kunstwerk Carlshütte, Büdelsdorf
2017 »Kopfkino«, group exhibition, nominated for the 10.Heise Art Award, Dessau-Roßlau
2017 »Mörder im Museum«, group exhibition, Karlsruhe
2016 »Natur-Mensch«, group exhibition, winner of 22nd Andreas Art Award, Rathaus-Scheune, Sankt Andreasberg
2016 International group exhibition, artgeschoß-project, Welfenakademie, Braunschweig
2016 »Begehren«, group exhibition, nominated for the 9.Heise Art Award, Dessau-Roßlau
2016 »Beauty«, group exhibition, Vinogradov Gallery, Berlin
2015 »Kollaps der Moderne?«, group exhibition, winner of 26th Eisenturm Art Award, Kunstverein Eisenturm, Mainz
2015 »Eva in the City«, solo exhibition, Gallery Uhrwerk, Kolonie Wedding, Berlin
2015 »Margaritas«, solo exhibition, Atelier 26, Berlin
2015 »Berliner Kind-(Aus)leben eines Traums«, group exhibition, art house Acud, Berlin
2015 Russian Contemporary Art Week, group exhibition, The Ballery Gallery, Berlin
2015 Russian Contemporary Art Week, group exhibition, LemoArt Gallery, Berlin
2014 »Vary, modify«, group exhibition, the 28th Art Award of the Kreissparkasse Esslingen-Nürtingen Foundation, Kirchheim
2014 »Mix it«, group exhibition, Gallery Wedding, Berlin
2013 »Natur-Mensch«, group exhibition, winner of Audience Award, Rathaus Scheune, Sankt Andreasberg
2013 »Wedding-Kunst pur!«, group exhibition, Gallery Wedding, Berlin
2013 »Another side of Russian Berlin«, group exhibition, Russisches Haus, Berlin
2012 »Portraits«, solo exhibition, Kunstscheune, Landshut
2011 »Faces«, group exhibition, nominated for Lucas-Kranach Art Award 2011, Kronach-Stadt
2011 »Communicating«, solo exhibition, Tacheles, Berlin
2010 »48 hours Neukölln«, group exhibition, Neuköllner Kunstsalon, Berlin
2010 »Eva in the City«, solo exhibition, Autorenschule, Berlin
2009 Group exhibition, Tacheles, Berlin
2008 Kunstmesse Hanse Art, Lübeck
2008 »Good Amerika - bad Amerika«, group exhibition, nominated for Leonardo Art Award 2008, Galerie Noah, Augsburg
2008 »Exhibition 38«, group exhibition, Vinogradov Gallery, Berlin
2007 Group exhibition, Kunstsalon »D21«, Leipzig
2006 »Expressions«, solo exhibition, Kunstsalon Posin, Berlin
2005 Solo exhibition, Gallery one-hour, Berlin
2004 »Expressions«, solo exhibition, Haus der Sinne, Berlin
Text: R. Zieger
(»Unfathom«, art book, 2015)