Monika Radhoff-Troll

Born 1958 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Monika studied art and textile design at PH/RWTH Aachen, lectured by Prof. Benno Werth. Since 1987
she works as artist. Monika was founder and board member of the Euregio Maas-Rhein art association
dreieck.triangle.driehoek e.V., 1994/95 and 2006-2011. In 1995 she received the award of the art price
of Stadt Lohmar. Since 1996 Monika is working as artist and teacher for art in Aachen, Germany and is
resident artist of Villa Herzogenrath, Kunst-, Kultur und Wirtschaftszentrum. She exhibits regulary in the
Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

Monika’s work is focussed on paintings and installations. All sand paintings capture real traces of life
and nature. Removed from their surroundings onto a sand coated canvas – with material originally from
the point of origin – similar traces arise. These impressions create space for looking at well-known
things in a new perspective.

The paintings seem to be poetic landscapes – but all of them are deserted. Human traces are barely
or not at all existent. Finiteness and memory are subject. Hardly anything else but sand can make this
clear. Sand blows away, collapses back upon itself, is insecure.
Nature is as fragile as the sand the motives are painted on. A lot of it we don’t know how to preserve.
Therefore on the one hand the painted non-permanent moments represent the past, on the other hand
paradoxically show a possible future world: landscapes, characterized by human absence.

In comparison to her paintings upon sand, Monika creates installations, as her view upon art is
influenced by political and ecological aspects. She doesn’t want to confront the viewer with horrific real
life scenario – but she wants to disturb them by building alienated, distorted situations, pseudoscientific
assemblages and installations with recycling material.