Light Beneath Geometric Forms: Clara Brörmann and “Aureolen” at Schwarz Contemporary

“Aureolen”… In German, that mysterious circle of light surrounding the heads of holy figures, that is, a halo. However, in German painter Clara Brörmann’s new solo exhibition of the same name opening at Schwarz Contemporary gallery in Charlottenburg, this circle appears as a symbol of a pictorial process rather than religious iconography: a resilient geometric line standing right at the center of destruction, erasure, and reconstruction.

Opening its doors with a vernissage taking place on the evening of Thursday, August 6, the exhibition invites Berlin art lovers to discover the deep layers of time beneath minimal forms between August 7 – September 5, 2026.

The Intense Process Behind Simplicity: Destruction and Renewal

Born in Duisburg in 1982, Clara Brörmann’s artistic practice might at first glance seem like a simple, raw, and orderly geometric abstraction. However, when you step a little closer to those canvases, you see the traces of a tough reckoning continuing beneath the surface. For Brörmann, painting is not a pursuit of a finished and frozen form; on the contrary, it is a living space of transformation where layers continuously engulf one another.

The canvases in the “Aureolen” exhibition clearly bear the marks of painting, scraping, erasing, and superimposing. The “halo,” an indicator of sanctity, transforms in the artist’s hands not into a transcendental miracle, but into that organic “aura” created by the labor and time accumulated on her canvases. Each painting is both a record of a past canvas act and a fragile balance of the present moment.

Independent Voice of Charlottenburg: Schwarz Contemporary

Founded in 2011 by Anne Schwarz, Schwarz Contemporary maintains a more focused and independent exhibition line in the heart of Charlottenburg (Marburger Straße 3), away from the noise of massive museum buildings.

This organic bond that Clara Brörmann has maintained with the gallery for many years takes the “Aureolen” exhibition beyond the act of displaying in an ordinary gallery, transforming it into the fruit of a deep dialogue matured between the artist and the space over the years.

Geometry, Memory, and the Bauhaus Legacy

When looking at Germany’s deep-rooted geometric abstraction tradition—from Bauhaus to the Konkrete Kunst line—Brörmann filters this legacy through her own lens rather than inheriting it as is. She melts pure and rigid geometry within that accidental and emotional flow of the pictorial process.

The geometric forms on her canvases are not engineered; rather, they are sought, destroyed, and rebuilt from scratch. The short yet intense schedule of the exhibition, lasting approximately 30 days, also matches the artist’s philosophy of this “temporary yet indelible” process.

NO-26 Editor’s Art Route Note

If you are on the Charlottenburg side and want to closely see that patient craftsmanship behind contemporary abstract painting, be sure to add this exhibition, open for 30 days, to your agenda. The vernissage taking place on the evening of Thursday, August 6, is a wonderful opportunity to discover that secret light beneath brushstrokes and layers on a summer evening in Berlin!