Artwork by Rita Ackermann, USA, 1990s

This artwork by Rita Ackermann, rendered in her signature raw, expressive style, captures the essence of youthful turmoil and rebellion. Created in the 1990s, a pivotal period for the artist, the drawing is executed in ink on paper, featuring multiple figures, often described as her “cat-eyed nymphs", engaged in acts that suggest ennui, withdrawal, and self-exploration. These figures, undressed or in the process of disrobing, seem to be caught between adolescence and adulthood, grappling with the weight of their emotional and physical worlds.

Ackermann’s use of sinuous, almost sketch-like lines, interspersed with smears and rough marks, evokes a sense of immediacy and rawness. Her figures are often collapsed into each other, emphasizing a collective identity rather than individual subjectivity. In this piece, we see echoes of her recurring motifs: the female body as both vulnerable and defiant, and the chaotic interplay between youthful abandon and emotional disturbance.

Ackermann’s early works, like this one, have often been likened to stills from a road movie about runaways, their restless energy palpable in every gesture. The imagery speaks of a group dynamic, with the figures mirroring one another, as if engaged in a private, rebellious ritual away from the gaze of the adult world. Through her raw brushwork and delicate linework, Ackermann captures a transient world where autonomy is both sought after and deeply elusive.

At the edge of the canvas, the artwork invites viewers into a charged, liminal space where social norms are questioned, and youthful disaffection is laid bare. Ackermann’s work from this era is often described as a visual bildungsroman in reverse, where instead of coming of age, the figures resist the societal expectations imposed on them, embracing an outsider status that defines their identity.