In the project WATER PORTRAITS, the artist has been exploring the element of water as the origin of life and the basis of human existence since the beginning of 2022. She creates portraits of bodies of water using photo, film, and sound material. Beate C. Koehler collects visual and auditory impressions on her travels to lakes, rivers, and seas around the world. Among other places, she has explored the lakes of Bremen, the Main River, the Pacific coast of San Francisco, the Arctic Ocean, other bodies of water in the Svalbard region, and the aquatic worlds of northern Norway. Through her work on various bodies of water, field recordings have become another component of her work.
NORDLAND | 2024 With NORDLAND, Beate C. Koehler presents photographs from her trip to northern Norway. Beyond the Arctic Circle, she explored a variety of landscapes that, as on other trips, are characterized by water. She visited her favorite beach, Mjelle, north of Bodø, several times and explored it extensively. In addition, the Svartisen Glacier deeply impressed and fascinated the artist. She took tours to two of its 60 glacier tongues.
Beate C. Koehler | 2024 | SVARTISEN GLACIER | 50 x 40 cm photo print on Bakelite in a light box
POLAR LANDSCAPES | 2022/23 In POLAR LANDSCAPES, Beate C. Koehler presents photographs from her travels to Svalbard in the Arctic. On clear nights, the moonlight shining down on the polar night transforms the snow-covered plains and mountains into an enchanted landscape. The winter photos depict the magical Adventdalen valley. The pictures, taken in June during the midnight sun, were taken at various locations on Svalbard. The summer light makes nature shine in completely different colors. It is impressive to see what a central element water is in the Arctic landscape, whether in its frozen state as snow and ice, or in its liquid form in the meltwater rivulets, streams and rivers, lakes and fjords, and the sea.
Beate C. Koehler | 2023 | BILLEFJORDEN | From the series ‘Adventdalen/Svalbard 2023’ | 45 x 30 cm on Hahnemühle Photo Rag in a 70 x 50 cm passe-partout
PACIFIC COAST OF SAN FRANCISCO | 2022 WALKING THE TIDELINE shows Beate C. Koehler's view of San Francisco's Pacific coast, a wild piece of nature in close proximity to the urban, bustling life of the city. In September 2022, the artist walked along the tide line from Fort Funston in the south of the city to Marshall's Beach in the north, close to the Golden Gate Bridge. She immersed herself in coastal life, observing the sea and the animals, and was fascinated by the beauty and diversity of the beaches and the interplay of the elements. Beate C. Koehler | 2022 | SEAL ROCK | multiple exposure in the camera
THE MAIN RIVER | 2022 THE MAIN RIVER captivated Beate C. Koehler from its source at Rotmain to its confluence with the Rhine. She followed the river by bike, explored it through photography and film, and listened to its voice. From a small trickle to a navigable river, the Main reveals many different faces. The artist was particularly enchanted by the confluence of the source rivers and the section near Maineck.
Beate C. Koehler | 2022 | RIVERBANK | multiple exposure in the camera
