Hannelore Baron

“Everything I’ve done is a statement on the, as they say, human condition…The materials I use in the box constructions and cloth collages are gathered with great care. The reason I use old cloth and boxes is that the new materials lack the sentiment of the old, and seems too dry in an emotional sense.”  Hannelore Baron (1926-1987)

I came across Hannelore Baron's work as I was surfing the web.  I was immediately drawn to her collage work because of its use of fabric and the aged look of the elements she uses to convey her message about the human condition.  She is most well known for her personal, abstracted collages and box assemblages created in the 1960's. 

Hannelore Baron was a Holocaust survivor who left Germany with her family in the 1940's. Her work draws upon her past and the periodic bouts of depression she suffered throughout her life.  The work incorporates fabric remnants, paper, mono prints, and etchings with some drawn elements. It was important to Baron to use materials that were aged and often with a look of deterioration.  By developing her own visual vocabulary her small, often book sized pieces, offer us work of great power and poetic sensibility.

I am definitely a fan of both her message and her artwork.  

I find myself returning often to the various sites on the internet that display her work.

I always come away with a renewed spirit for collage and the use of remnants and other elements that are often considered less than valuable.

You can see more of her work here.