Karla Woisnitza (born 16 August 1952) is a German artist.

Life

Woisnitza was born in Rüdersdorf. Before she went to art school, she took part in a drawing group in her hometown led by the artist Erika Stürmer-Alex. She studied set design from 1973 to 1979 at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. In her core curriculum, she studied with Günter Hornig, who was an inspiration to a number of influential performance artists in East Germany ^[1] and who gave his students room for creative experimentation despite the conservative climate of the academy. ^[2] During her studies, Woisnitza brought together women artists and founded loose networks. ^[1] These included her fellow students and upcoming artists like Christine Schlegel, Marie-Luise Bauerschmidt, Sabine Gumnitz, Monika Hanske, Cornelia Schleime, and Angela Schumann. They realized a number of collective events together. ^[1] These informal performances involved body actions, such as Face Painting Action (Gesichts-malaktion, 1978–1979). ^[2]

In 1991, Woisnitza received a diploma in painting and graphic design from the Academy. In 1992, she received the Marianne Werefkin Prize [ de] from the Berlin Women Artist Association. From 1993 to 1995, she painted seven large frescoes for the Virchow-Klinikum campus of the Charité hospital in Berlin. In 1994, Woisnitza received the Käthe Kollwitz Prize from the Berlin Academy of Arts. In 2002, she created a fresco for the church hall of the Evangelical church in Rüdersdorf. ^[3]

Woisnitza was encouraged by two artist/teachers, Gunther Hornig and Erika Sturmer-Alex to do non-conformist conceptual art. She developed "an artistic activation of the body in the interest of female self-assurance and empowerment" ^[2] and would call "into question traditional representations of femininity as well as the basic difference between internal and external perception." ^[2]

Woisnitza's work is in the National Museum of Women in the Arts. ^[4]

References