Toronto-based Erin Armstrong is in Berlin with her new solo exhibition, Trial by Fire, which reflects on what it feels like to be a woman in a world that can feel regressive and dangerous today.
On at KÖNIG TELEGRAPHENAMT through July 26, the works are representative of this prominent artist’s fluid style and interpretative talent.
Armstrong was tabbed early on as a figurative painter with top prospects. Saatchi Art’s chief curator identified her as one of the world’s 20 emerging artists to watch and she has been heralded since.
The situation expressed in the exhibition begins with a battle cry: two men raise their instruments in a symbolic gesture of threat or control (above). From there, only women remain in Armstrong’s world. The exhibition unfolds in three parts: day, afternoon, and night. As time passes, the figures shift along with the tone of the exhibition. Hope, resilience, fear, struggle, and unity repeat in rhythm with the day.
Women as vulnerable as ever
The installation speaks to the emotional and physical vulnerability women are experiencing, as rights are stripped away and power imbalances deepen, the gallery says. “Armstrong gestures toward larger forces—social, political, and historical—that often leave women feeling exposed, silenced, and unprotected.”
More on the exhibition at the gallery, here.
Erin Armstrong’s website, here.
At Bau-Xi gallery in Toronto, which represents her, here.
Two previous Canadian Art Junkie posts on Erin Armstrong, here.
Installation view, top of post:
L) The Drop, 2024, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 54 in
R) Tilt In The Wood, 2024, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 48 in
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A wonderful contrast in that last image between the art works, representing women’s vulnerability in this increasingly hostile world, and the powerful physical stance & gaze of the artist herself.
I’m with you there. I love this artist – strong, talented and on topic.