Artist statement
hannah goldstein a multidisciplinary artist working in photography, collage and video. Much of her work anchors itself in feminist thought and wishes to challenge societies normative ways of thinking. Along these lines she works on numerous projects at once, which span the topics of female histories to addressing the gender and race unbalance in art world. In goldstein’s other photographic work she moves freely in the realms of self-documentary, narrative portraits and dealing with archives.
In goldstein’s collage work she seeks out the juxtapositions of mostly only two images. She searches for balloons and boats. Ghosts and the turned away gazes. She is also drawn to repetitions and the absurd. The theme of disappearance and fear, fear of the decay of the planet, fear of water or losing her son by the lake or public places reappear. Collage gives her the chance to work with the photographic image in a different way, it gives her a freedom to interact with her medium in a somewhat violent way. The act of cutting the image is a deconstruction of what can if one wants it to be a perfect image. In this way goldstein can challenge the image and to a certain extent punish it. Images can be volatile and making the collage is yet another act of creating tension in a medium that she loves and at the same time wants to defy and take apart. Hannah Höch said: ”I have always tried to exploit the photograph. I use it like color, or as the poet uses the word.”
goldstein has a B.A in photography and human rights from Bard College, New York. She spent one year in residency at the Royal Collage of Art in Stockholm, as well as doing a one-year Master class with Arno Fischer at the Ostkreuz Schule für Fotografie, Berlin. In March 2024 she finished her Master in Education in the Arts at the Piet Zwart Institute, in Rotterdam.
Her work has been exhibited in various countries, most recently in France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany. In 2013 goldstein self published her book family business. She is part of the feminist art collective Die bösen Mösen with Thérèse Kristiansson. goldstein is also the co-founder of Kaetha, a curatorial collaboration with Katja Haustein. Since 2019 she works with Claudia Balsters, together they have won awards and their projects have been exhibited internationally.
hannah goldstein is represented by Jacob Hoerner Galleries Melbourne, Australia.
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany.