BETTINA PASCHKE "Drawing Lines"

Autumn exhibition on the upper floor

BETTINA PASCHKE

"Linien ziehen" /

"Drawing Lines"

Opening: Fri, 02.10.2026, 7:30 PM

Introduction: Dr.in TANJA GURKE, art historian, freelance curator and cultural manager

Exhibition: 04.10.2026 - 10.01.2027

Between the Lines Nr.194, 40x60, 2023

BETTINA PASCHKE

"Drawing Lines“

The exhibition “Drawing Lines” presents a selection of drawings by the Graz-based artist BETTINA PASCHKE on the upper floor of the Museum der Wahrnehmung, created over the last few years. For her drawings on paper, the artist primarily uses ink pens of varying thicknesses.

Each of the artist’s drawings begins with a straight line, the ends of which form the starting points for the next lines. All the drawings – consisting of a multitude of individual strokes in a single colour – share a stroke system developed by the artist, within which minor or major variations arise due to differences in stroke length or direction. The freehand, repetitive stringing together of identical shapes such as triangles, diamonds or hexagons gives rise to subtle irregularities which, in the drawing’s slow process of development, lead to distortions of the entire line structure. These net-like structures appear compressed or stretched. Within the linear structure, areas of densification also arise time and again, caused by smaller forms or by the superimposition of line structures. In some places, BETTINA PASCHKE takes this play with densification so far that the linear system is no longer recognisable to the naked eye. “I am interested in the unstable, the fleeting – the shimmering that makes us feel uncertain.“

It is a slow creative process that demands intense concentration, yet whose final outcome cannot be predicted in advance. She strives, says BETTINA PASCHKE, for perfection, but is always aware that this is impossible, which is why she tries to come to terms with her mistakes. She exploits this circumstance to a certain extent by sometimes deliberately provoking mistakes – by inserting a different form – and then exploring their effects in the course of the resulting drawing. Every decision, sometimes made spontaneously, to change a line or the system itself, has consequences for the following lines and ultimately for the entire composition. The deviations increase the tension when viewing and make the linear structure appear alive. Recognising minimal irregularities when continuously comparing lines and forms in BETTINA PASCHKE’s drawings becomes an exciting, constantly rekindled challenge. “I rely on the persistence of the quiet. Those who whisper compel their counterpart to draw near and listen closely and force them to take their time.”

Dr.in TANJA GURKE, art historian, curator: "For BETTINA PASCHKE, drawing lines is like handwriting. Every first stroke is the beginning of something uncertain. How the finished sheet will ultimately look only emerges in the constant act, in the rhythm of setting the small, accurate lines. Patterns and ordered structures begin to vibrate and shimmer, an energy builds up in the fabric-like surfaces and makes the textile-like nets appear elastic and flexible. Tight to wide-meshed line networks weave through systematic, persistent repetition across the pictorial space and stretch across the surface. The artist leads us, the viewers, into a seemingly infinite space, into a contemplative place of our perception, both externally and within ourselves."

BETTINA PASCHKE: "My artistic medium is drawing, characterized by my desire to minimize, simplify and dissect, in the elaborate search for intensity. A straight line stands at the beginning, its beginning and end form a point. Fine individual strokes lie horizontally, vertically or diagonally as systematic layers over the paper - line by line, millimeter by millimeter. Bright omissions structure these stroke webs and reflect light. They show a drawing growth process that proves to be an abstract game between me and my stroke system. My interest lies in the unstable, the fleeting - the shimmering that makes us uncertain."

BETTINA PASCHKE, born 1972 in Graz; studied architecture in Graz, Venice and Oslo; freelance artist since 1998. Solo and group exhibitions (selection): 2026: Paper Unlimited_02, exhibition for the Erich Grabner Prize of the City of Krems; High Season, Room of Fine Arts Graz; Artist in Residence - Artoll Kunstlabor / Kleve, D; 2025: Blumen . Flüstern, Galerie Hrobsky Vienna; Between the Lines, PLÜ23 Graz; 2024: Fortsetzung folgt, Gerberhaus Fehring; Vermessung 02 – Arbeiten auf Papier, Kunsthalle Graz; 2023: Paralell Editions 2023, Vienna; Looking for a Safe Place, Galerie Künstlerverein Dachau; 2022: Roter Salon 2022, Hoenes-Stiftung Burgrieden, Galerie Ulrike Hrobsky Vienna; Sommergras ist alles, was geblieben ist, Kunstverein zu Rostock; 2021: Paper Positions 2021, Basel, Galerie Ulrike Hrobsky Vienna; Rapid Lines, Westwendischer Kunstverein Gartow; 2020: Heterogen, Galerie Ulrike Hrobsky Vienna; 2019: Paper Positions 2019, Basel, Galerie Ulrike Hrobsky; Schwarz Weiss / Licht Schatten, Galerie Ulrike Hrobsky Vienna; 2018: Art Austria 2018 Vienna, Galerie Ulrike Hrobsky; Relative Nähe Galerie Hrobsky Vienna; 2016: Don't Panic It's Organic, Galerie Zimmermann-Kratochwill Graz; 2019 Art Promotion Prize of the Anne-Goldenberg-Fonds; represented in the collection of the Neue Galerie, UMJ Graz.

http://www.bettina-paschke.at/

Dr.in TANJA GURKE, born 1971 in Graz, 1989 -…