Foreword
The exhibition OBSERVATIONS opens at Glasmuseet Ebeltoft on 4th May 2005. This is Ann Wolff’s largest retrospective exhibition to date – a Swedish|German artist with her roots solidly planted in Scandinavia.
The idea about the exhibition first came about when Dagmar Brendstrup visited Ann Wolff and her husband, Dirk Bimberg at their home outside Transjö, Sweden in the spring of 2001.
Ann Wolff had, for a while, put the glass environment she had been a large part of for many years, at a distance, where many of her designs had been and probably still are a large sales success for Orrefors.
She wanted more from glass – and not least her own art. “I will use the material which is best to express what I want to put across”.
Ann has a lot on her mind. She expresses herself in glass with a remarkable degree of strong personal presence, providing us with food for thought. She uses her material to the utmost, but she also goes beyond glass. In her choice of materials she also uses graphics and bronze to express herself, which she has also included in this exhibition. She transcends barriers in the mind in a provoking and observing way, but at the same time her works are always united and have a great overview.
Often she is present like Edvard Munch’s all at once tearing contemplations and at the same time merging portraits of the relationship between woman and man. Then suddenly it is Francis Bacon’s distorted double-masks, which influences the artist. But first and foremost it is Ann Wolff herself, who has her cultural heritage in place and she manages to quote from it without losing control of her own feelings about reality.
When I met the artist in her studio in Berlin earlier on this year, I met the person Ann Wolff and her infectious, provo-cative commitment. A person of calibre, who immediately struck me as being someone who has a lot on her mind. She sees the world, ponders over it, and then confidently moves us into her art. She is very insistent about her art, and she manages to influence us quite discretely, making it difficult for us to dismiss.
Ann Wolff asks questions with her works, but at the same time, she is an artist who gives answers. In her confident compositions she manages to hold on to fragments. In an unparalleled and positive way, she unites the separated parts for us.
The questions, which Ann Wolff asks in her art are very direct. It looks almost effortless. We know that it isn’t. The title for this exhibition is a humble choice. Wolff is an “observer”, but she is definitely also an interpreter. She manages to express her deep penetration into people’s conditions today, to such a degree in the material that she uses, that “the pictures” come back – back to the viewer.
Ann wants to give us more than observations. Solidly cast in forms, but at the same time so organic and alive that our own existence can be recognised.
We are extremely honoured to be able to present Ann Wolff’s OBSERVATIONS, which is one of the museum’s largest challenges to date. We would like to convey our very special thanks to Ann and her assistants, and to the foundations, which have financially supported this project. We are additionally very grateful to professor Andrew Brewerton, Principal of Dartington College of Arts, UK who has written the catalogue essay about Ann Wolff and her art. After the premier at Glasmuseet Ebeltoft in 2005, the exhibition will continue on its tour around the world until 2007.

Pauline Asingh
Executive Director