Interview: Steffi Rodigas
Luca Curci talks with Steffi Rodigas during VENICE INTERNATIONAL ART FAIR 2021 – 14TH EDITION, at THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space, and during THE BODY LANGUAGE 2022, at ITSLIQUID Art Space – Venice Grand Canal.

“I have spent a large part of my life in various professions, including as a teacher, social pedagogue, headmistress, entrepreneur and educator of my three children. But art has always been in my heart! That’s why I broke with all conventions a few years ago, quit my job and from then on did what I wanted to do: express my feelings, my thoughts and ideas with art and music. Since 2018, I have been working as a freelance artist. My deep connection to nature, animals and love of detail is reflected in my artistic work. However, I do not allow myself to be pinned down, I act with a wide variety of colours and techniques and try out everything, even to the point of creating sculptures. Motifs can be equally animal, landscape or human. The only thing that is important to me in everything is to fathom the soul, the mood and to make it tangible in my works. I also articulate my emotions and opinions on world events, such as climate change, in my other artistic work. The work exhibited in Venice belongs to my specially developed art form “ART in ART”. With colour as the main element, I combine my love of realistic painting with a form of abstraction. Numerous small works of art with colourful expressiveness harmonise to form a complete work, which recognizes a motif or also gives free rein to the imagination. Paintings from this series will soon be on show in Madrid and Paris. In Germany, I have had 7 solo exhibitions so far and have participated in numerous collective exhibitions”.

“Art gives me the chance to express my deep feelings and concerns, which the overwhelming beauty of nature as well as its dramatic threat trigger in me, in color and form using a wide variety of techniques“.

Luca Curci – How did you get to your current artistic practice?
Steffi Rodigas – “Art in Art” arose from the economic use of resources. Years ago, I used to press remnants of acrylic paints onto paper and keep the colored sheets. At some point, I had the idea of punching out squares and putting them together again in a different color harmony like a puzzle.

LC – What are your thoughts while you paint? Do you have any habits or rituals while you work?
SR – I use every free minute of my current life for artistic, creative activity. And regardless of whether it’s a landscape, an animal or a human being, at the moment of painting I am completely with the motif.

LC – How is your creative process?
SR – It varies! Sometimes an idea matures in me over months, other times I can’t get away from the fascination of a photo until I have realized it artistically. Topics such as climate change, animal welfare or human rights violations often trigger emotions in me that I try to put into form and color. With a lot of ambition, I work daily on improving my skills in painting techniques, such as watercolors at the moment.

LC – Are your artworks focused on a specific theme?
SR – Quite specifically, however, the comprehensive theme of my artistic works is the beauty of nature in positive and negative actions with people.

LC – How is being an artist nowadays?
SR – No easy undertaking! In Germany, I have the impression that art and culture have a much lower status than football, for example, which was particularly evident in the pandemic. In earlier times, the success and recognition of an artist were determined by ability. Nowadays, skill no longer comes first, but the ability to put oneself in the limelight and be marketed by patrons. Young, media-savvy people have a clear advantage here. It is also very difficult to stand out as an individual artist due to global networking and an oversupply.

LC – We were attracted by your last artistic production, has the artwork presented been created for the exhibition or as a part of preexisting works?
SR – “Clever Magpie” is one of three artworks depicting animals, in the same format, abstracted in my “Art in Art” technique. The others will be on show in Madrid and Paris in January.

LC – Do you agree with our vision of art and what do you think about the theme of the exhibition?
SR – I really like the concept of the ITSLIQUID GROUP and the exhibition. I also think it’s great that topics like climate change play a role.

LC – Did you enjoy cooperating with us?
SR – At first I was very sceptical whether everything was true. But Giulia really went to a lot of trouble to dispel my doubts and promptly answered my inquiries. In conclusion, I enjoyed the collaboration.

LC – What do you think about the organization of our event?
SR – Great, with respectable result!