Can’t see the forest for the trees

In her site-specific installation currently being created for the Rechnitzer Gallery, Luca Pataki takes the symbol of the tree as her starting point. In this context, she is interested in the processes of putting down roots, growth, transformation, and concealment—in her drawings, personal experiences intertwine with universal themes such as the search for home, the experience of returning there, and the journey of finding one’s own path. The gallery’s basement is divided into two parts: the interior transforms into a sort of cave, representing the subconscious and the act of inward reflection, while the exterior space is dominated by expressive drawings, introducing the visitor to Pataki’s thinking — inspired by various myths — on cyclicality, transformation, and, not least, the pivotal role that creation and drawing play in the artist’s life. Pataki is fascinated by the tensions between outside and inside, dark and light, emptiness and fullness, and these themes run through the various levels of the installation as well.