Andrea Muheim. Malerei als Selbstgespräch
Beneath its softcover and salmon-pink dust jacket, this catalogue of works presents more than 800 paintings by Zurich artist Andrea Muheim. Its greatest design achievement lies in the extensive and innovative picture editing. The works are minimally labelled by title and ordered by year; however, within each year they are freely assembled by theme, in varying sizes and layouts, with between 1 and 15 paintings per page. Sometimes the book comes across like a graphic novel, while at other times it is reminiscent of a typologically arranged photo book or an iPhone photo gallery. As Muheim predominantly paints herself and her surroundings, it is possible to track certain characters and locations over the decades. Diary-like insights open up, and the titles of the works start to combine to tell stories. It takes a little while to become immersed, but as soon as the manifold connections between the paintings emerge, they facilitate a unique reading of a life and oeuvre. The fact that hardly any of the paintings stand alone and many are only reproduced in small form reveals the strong faith that the artist has in the design. The extensive technical information on all the works can be found in an index which, together with an art-historical essay, forms the final section of the book.
