Janine Thüngen-Reichenbach - Indentations of Memory
- Jun 15
- 3 min read
KALPA is pleased to announce Indentations of Memory, the latest solo exhibition of multidisciplinary artist Janine Thüngen-Reichenbach, hosted at the Gallery’s main venue in the historic Palazzo Bonomini from 30 April to 30 August. This exhibition marks the beginning of the Gallery’s 2026 exhibition program, presenting the artist’s profound investigation into the concepts of time, nature, and material memory through her work in bronze and washi paper.
Indentations of Memory
Is it possible to etch the memory of time? In the work of Janine Thüngen-Reichenbach, the fleeting echoes of passing years are impressed forever, creating a tangible continuum between the past and the future. Through the artist’s multidisciplinary practice, the concepts of motion and stillness are fused into the single art objects, resulting from her research in scientific territories that explore spacetime and the void through the lenses of both physics and Eastern philosophy.
The title of her latest solo exhibition at KALPA, Indentations of Memory, finds its roots in the Medieval Latin indentāre, meaning “to furnish with teeth”, emphasising the visceral, biting nature of time. This project, presenting an iconic washi paper work alongside a significant body of bronze sculptures - a material renowned for its durability and nobility - is deeply sensorial. It is an invitation to inhabit the penumbra of the room and engage with art forms that demand to be touched and felt.
Indentations of Memory unfolds as an evocative atlas of narratives that bridge nature and subterranean history. By reuniting the Omega paper bas-relief and DNA bronze series—both born from silicon casts of paleo-Christian catacombs—with the recent Baumwelt bronzes, Janine Thüngen-Reichenbach captures the dialogue between space and botanical memory. While the subterranean traces and ancient secrets are reimagined in abstract forms, the almost-spherical bronzes of the Baumwelt series serve as silent sentinels of trees’ resilience. These sculptures, formed from imprints of ancient barks from Rome and identified by the individual tree’s Latin nomenclature, transform natural scars and imperfections into a textured, meteoric aesthetic. Ultimately, they function as a living archive, moving beyond its botanical origins to offer a universal meditation on the strength and profound precariousness of all life.
The artworks in Indentations of Memory possess a light, organic movement set against an earthy, compact texture that reflects their intrinsic bond with the ground. The artist’s effort to “dematerialize” the sculpture introduces a deliberate discontinuity into the matter, evoking a sense of lightness and motion. As an impressionist sculptor, Janine Thüngen-Reichenbach embraces the legacy of Medardo Rosso, rendering the solid ephemeral through the shifting effects of light. Thus, she seeks out distortions and unexpected angles, challenging the viewer’s perception of what a sculpture can, and should, be.
THE ARTIST: JANINE THÜNGEN-REICHENBACH (Germany, 1964)
Based in Rome, Janine Thüngen-Reichenbach has lived and worked in Antwerp, New York, Moscow, and Paris. After working in fashion design in Milan and Paris, most notably alongside Karl Lagerfeld, she spent over ten years as a set and costume designer for major opera houses across Europe before dedicating herself exclusively to her art.
During the last two decades, Janine earned international acclaim. In 2026, she was invited to exhibit her latest Baumwelt series within the 2026 Art Season of the prestigious context of the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire. In 2025, she participated in the inaugural edition of the Universe Pavilion, a parallel event to the Venice Architecture Biennale. During her career, Janine has also exhibited in public museums and spaces, art exhibitions, including the Venice Glass Week 2025, the Venice Art Biennale 2017, the Frie Museum in Copenhagen in 2020, and both Palazzo Branciforte and Palermo State Archive in 2019.
