Plants sprouting human flowers. Roots connecting everything living. Hybrid creatures; half-angels,
part-butterflies, semi-felines and demi-bats. Couples embracing and holding hands. Blue leaves
embracing naked souls. Suggesting an organic interconnectivity. A painterly appeal to cherish what is
around, above and below us. A holistic artistic vision of our universe and existence.
During the last decade, Kohlmann has developed a distinct visual universe, easily recognizable for its
amorphous figures and imaginative vegetation. Rendered in an evocative color scheme and often
framed in pyrographed cherry wood frames, her signature style has now settled into an almost naïve,
folksy symbolism.
A large part of Kohlmann’s practice is dedicated to the process of image gathering. From books on
architecture, erotica, spirituality, mythologies and ancient cultures, online resources, or photos she
has personally taken in museums or in various historical sites. This collection contains images of
ancient Roman and Greek pottery, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Mesopotamian sculpture, Japanese fantasy,
European modernism, Amish quilts and Norse symbolism.
Kohlmann is drawn to the naiveness of art making. Searching for crudeness, simpleness, the
imaginary pureness of learning how to draw. The energy of being. She works from intuition in one
instant motion. Never revisits or retouches a work. She works with an idea on various materials until
she is content with the results. If she is not content – she will start over – except this time the
tenseness of the canvas, ceramic, cloth or paper won’t hold her.
Kohlmann’s work can be viewed as a collection of lost and found ideas, objects and images.
Retrieving them from wherever they live in the depths of her mind. Subconsciously and consciously,
she creates patterns of symbols, shapes and figures, which then become part of an unspoken
narrative. A lineage from primordial times, through ancient cultures and into the present. Kohlmann
guides the connection between the unspoken with form.
