Annina Roescheisen, a German-born artist now based in New York, presents her work in Venice during the opening days of the Venice Biennale. Her paintings are created through an alchemical ritual where she mixes pigments, charcoal, ash, ink, herbs, and salts, producing pulsating fields of color that blur the line between the visible and invisible. A self-taught artist who never attended art school, Roescheisen draws on art history and philosophy, with a particular passion for medieval art. Her series "Flying Dragons" references the ancient Physiologus, and she has also produced watercolors based on drawings made with her eyes closed to explore how visual perception changes from childhood to adulthood.
This profile matters because it highlights a distinctive contemporary practice that bridges mysticism, medieval iconography, and modern abstraction. Roescheisen's work challenges conventional boundaries between technique and intuition, representation and revelation, offering a fresh perspective on how art can engage with the invisible and the spiritual. Her presence during the Venice Biennale underscores the ongoing relevance of alchemical and symbolic approaches in the contemporary art world, and her unconventional career path—from artist's assistant to Sotheby's to curator—illustrates the diverse routes artists take to establish themselves.