Christina Krys Huber, the shape-shifter

For once, we visit Christina Krys Huber not in their studio, but in their solo exhibition “Darling You Should Feel Lucky” at Display – an exhibition space in Schöneberg, where they are currently showing their work. Some of the luminous paintings hang near the wall and others in the middle of the room, on heavy chains. They are large (certainly larger than us) and look mysterious. At first glance, what strikes us most are the bright colors and flowing shapes. Then, little by little, we discover individual facial features and body parts. The creatures on the canvases are reminiscent of humans, but still seem alien. Krys tells us that her depictions are so far removed from reality that you have to use your own imagination to decipher them. And that is different for everyone: in the large green picture, one of us recognizes a fox head, others an alien or an elf, snake eyes, dead eaters like in Harry Potter, a ghost, the letter G, eyelashes or a hand. At the same time, all these shapes and forms merge into one another, almost dissolve into one another. Why are the images so blurred?

Good question, thinks Krys. With this way of painting they want to represent the feeling when the boundaries of the body blur with the environment. We know this feeling too – when you feel completely free and are more in your thoughts than in your body. Some of us feel this way when we do handicrafts, for example. But maybe the blurring also comes from the fact that Krys likes to watch dancers and their movements. In fact, the beings look as if they are floating, swimming or dancing (but very slowly).

Sometimes Krys also works on paper, for example with the black picture in the corner. When they put the ink on it, the paper tore because of the moisture. Krys found that beautiful because it shows how fragile paper can be. They often find that coincidences and trial and error help them develop new series and techniques.

In terms of content, Krys has dealt a lot with shapeshifting for the exhibition. We think that’s great, too, and we can think of thousands of stories in which figures transform into people, animals, stones, or other objects. What Krys likes so much about shapeshifters is that their super strength makes them very strong, but unlike hard weapons or muscles, their power lies in their softness and fluidity. They reveal that they would love to transform into a bird.

Equipped with paper, pens and many new thoughts, we once again set out to find the motifs in Krys’ paintings that only we recognize - and then paint an environment that we find suitable for them. In this way, one picture becomes many different ones. And in the process we also realize: if something stupid happens, sometimes you can just keep going and it will be fine, even without erasing!

When we say goodbye, we look at the green picture at the exit one last time and one of us is now sure that the creature is actually Krys – at least if they were green and squeezed their eyes shut really tight. Maybe shape-shifting is their secret superpower!

Exhibition view – Photo: Chromaistanbul