The artwork features a visually striking composition with an abstract, collage-like design. The central element is a large yellow cross shape, adorned with various geometric patterns, symbols, and splatters of color. Surrounding the cross are four smaller, irregular shapes in different shades of brown and red, creating a dynamic and asymmetrical arrangement. The overall style suggests an experimental, mixed-media approach, blending elements of collage, painting, and drawing. This unconventional religious imagery may reflect the artist's intention to challenge traditional representations and explore the intersection of the sacred and the contemporary. ...
Ana Navas examines the histories and transformations of objects across different cultures and contexts. Her multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, video, painting, and performance, focusing on themes of translation, assimilation, and appropriation. By investigating the intersections between high and popular culture, she challenges conventional perceptions of art and its meanings beyond original contexts. Navas often develops multiple series simultaneously, allowing conceptual links to emerge organically during installation. This method treats exhibitions as evolving essays rather than fixed presentations, with works designed as modular elements that can be reused and reinterpreted. Her research-driven approach questions the boundaries between art, design, and everyday objects, revealing how cultural narratives and identities are embedded within material forms. Through this lens, Navas invites viewers to rethink the origins and significance of the objects around them, emphasizing the fluidity of cultural influences and the complexities inherent in processes of appropriation and transformation. ...
Founded in 2014 by Johannes Sperling, Sperling has established itself as a defining voice within a new generation of Munich galleries. The gallery represents eight international artists – Thomas Geiger, Andrew Gilbert, Veronika Hilger, Anna McCarthy, Ana Navas, Anousha Payne, Anna Vogel, and Malte Zenses — whose practices engage with diverse conceptual, interdisciplinary, and spatial approaches. Sperling’s programme is characterised by a sustained engagement with political, social, and cultural realities, often foregrounding the intersections between materiality, language, and contemporary visual discourse. Through a focus on both emerging and mid-career positions, the gallery fosters long-term artistic development and cross-cultural dialogue. In 2025 Sperling moved into a former industrial building in Munich’s Maxvorstadt district. The new space on Enhuberstraße – once home to a printing workshop – is located in close proximity to the Lenbachhaus and the Pinakotheken. With 200 square metres and nearly four-metre-high ceilings, it provides ideal conditions for Sperling’s ambitious contemporary programme. ...
