Miriam Cahn: MEINEJUDEN

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PAINTERS OF OUR TIME

In her pictorial worlds, the Swiss artist Miriam Cahn (b. Basel, 1949; lives and works in Stampa, Switzerland) anticipates the abolition of social norms while opposing traditional stagings of femininity and gender relations. From her early ­feminist years through to her late work, the human body has been at the heart of her painting. Themes of womanhood, gender, love, sexuality, violence, ­anti-Semitism, war, and flight consistently recur throughout her work. Starting from a drawing method free from academic dogmas, Cahn has developed a powerfully expressive painterly oeuvre over the past five decades, which also incorporates other artistic forms including writing, photography, film, and sculpture.

“MEINEJUDEN” is published on the occasion of the City of Siegen awarding the 14th Rubens Prize to the artist. It offers a comprehensive overview of Cahn’s multi­faceted oeuvre. In 14 chapters, based on the 14 rooms of the exhibition at ­MGKSiegen, the book presents important groups of works and installations from the last five decades, including numerous new works. The essays are written by ­Debora ­Antmann, Miriam Cahn, Carolin Emcke, Tamara Loewenstein, Hanno Loewy, and Thomas Thiel.