Untitled, c. 2009

For her 2009 Artpace exhibition, Silke Otto-Knapp created etchings that move beyond her previous explorations of the body’s form by selecting a series of movements rather than a single pose to analyze. Viewed as a whole, the fourteen prints show different stages of one gestural phrase. The different poses recall the movements of a dancer, but their lack of detail and the emphasis on form positions the artwork in a timeless space that transcends the etchings’ original source. Through her combination of optical effects and interest in the universality of movement, Otto-Knapp encourages the viewer to embrace the suspended quality of perception.