Gitte Backhausen

About

Danish-born Australian artist Gitte Backhausen (b. 1976), is a multidisciplinary artist who’s practice spans painting, assemblage, printmaking, installation, mixed media and text-based art. Dividing her time between the South Coast of NSW and Bondi Beach, Sydney, her work explores the intersection of nature and psychology in her well-known and expressive subconscious abstract landscape paintings.

Still rooted in her visual language of abstraction and expressive mark-making, more recently her practice has expanded to include text-based art. In this new work Backhausen investigates the dichotomy between societal conformity and individual expression through the use of fonts as a symbol of standardisation, and asemic handwriting as a representation of personal identity and freedom. This work reflects on broader societal themes of conformity and individuality and the impact of technology on individual expression.

Whether diving into the subconscious through the raw and expressive visual language of nature, or questioning the impact of societal structures on the personal expression, Backhausen’s work seeks to inspire curiosity and dialogue. The common thread through all of her work evolves around the themes of psychology, the subconscious and questioning our roles in life, both personally and on a broader societal level. 

Drawing inspiration from the surrealists’s interest in the subconscious, the Dada movement using art to for political and social critique, to the expressive freedom of abstract expressionism and contemporary landscape painting as well as a curiosity about technology’s influence on human behaviour, Backhausen’s work continues to both expand and deepen. Artists influencing her practice includes Cy Twombly, Per Kirkeby, Elizabeth Cummings, Glenn Ligon and Julie Mehretu. Degree qualified in applied social science, graphic design as well as art, her work is merging into an ever-evolving practice, not only informed by her multi-degree background and interests, but also her lifelong commitment to her art. The solid foundation of her practice is an ongoing desire to keep contributing to contemporary discourse and raise questions about how to navigate our human role in contemporary society.