Explore Barbara’s point of view on art and business interviewed by Coeur et Art Berlin in November 2019 - Enjoy!

Is there a particular artwork or place that inspired you to become an artist?

A particular painting that impressed me was one of the early known works of Stefan Kürten. His particular way of giving small, even tiny elements a special role and turning them into a focal point interested me. I read an article about a summer garden scene in a classy 70-year-old bungalow agglomeration where he decided to exclude elements like the sun umbrella and the water in the swimming pool. Herein he turns a standard scene into an exception and breaking up formalized experiences. To see the painting, I even traveled to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in San Francisco that added the painting to their collection.

Which of these elements (space, fire, water, earth) would you choose in relation to your practice and yourself, and why?

I choose water. Water is the key element of everything. It travels through space and time. Water acts as a symbol of dualism. It is calming and smoothing and helps me settle down. On the other hand, it thrives us with energy and unexpected forces up to the point of disrupting and destroying given structures. Waterfronts are opening views and water is giving back space to nature. Even further, water is a symbol of empowerment. These days nature asks for shelter and support: and we, we forget about our limited time to experience wonderful landscapes and places given by nature.

In my business practice water serves as an “element of flow” – being it waterfronts, harbor scenes and the power of waterways and water-based trade lanes. Water influences my way of identifying transformational elements for companies that seek to sustain in the future. I herein ask organizational leaders and transformation leaders to think about organization limits due to static fact-based concrete whereabouts, to explore the motifs for innovation, inspiration, and inter-operational transformation flow.

Waterfronts, harbor scenes and the power of waterways have a huge impact on local and distant economies. Without the element of water, we would not have explored the world and expanded our footprints. Through the element of water, nature gave us – at least in former times – a mean before the age of digitization and virtualization, an instrument so to speak to act. I discussed last year at the international harbor conference in Quebec about the interconnecting link of waterways to foster product focused trade. And herein beyond the physical context, we are able now to transform physically empowered innovation into digitally empowered innovation trade. In my business practice I focus particularly on companies that are product hence physically based seeking to outperform and transform through servitization and new role models in the age of digitization.

Do you consider yourself spiritual and how does this feed into your work?

The question to me is what spirituality refers to. I am a positivist. My focus is on transmitting the positive, the new way of exploring and seeing things, structures and forms. Rather than being an individual that people are following and looking up.

Is there a book or author you are reading that inspires you?

I am a big fan of Tania Blixen (known also as Isak Dinesen and Karen Blixen). Her short stories and novels are full of richness in character studies. Her eye for the essence transmits into descriptive observations. Those come across as virtual conversations. What inspires me is that she is inviting the reader to dive into her viewpoints and become part of the narrative.

Please tell us what you are currently working on and what you are looking forward to this year in terms of exhibitions. 

The exhibition right now (November 2019) in Berlin is consuming all my energy and attention! I am excited, but also nervous about it. I just started to expand the ONE series (ONE world to protect). Seeking to exploring what I call “abstracted reality”. Abstracted reality requires room for transition, and I am therefore will work on larger formats. My aim is to plan for an exhibition in second half of 2020 and in particular look into a neglected place that deserves attention. You find more at art2b.online

Thank you, Barbara.

Inga Nelli, Coeur et Art