“Prima Materia”
Prima materia, also known as the primordial substance, refers to the original, formless material from which everything in the world emerged. It encompasses opposites such as the masculine and feminine, hybrid beings, heaven and earth, as well as body and mind. This state symbolizes a chaotic, unordered mass, representing both the microcosm and the untapped potential of the cosmos.
The transformation of prima materia is likened to a cocoon process, where different forms – human, animal, and organic – merge to give rise to new states or existences. This transformation marks the beginning of order and structure emerging from chaos.
PERIODE III, 2012
Image: Art Cologne, 2013
Prima Materia can be seen as pure, raw consciousness from which all life emerges. It represents the deepest desires to manifest and overcome emotional blockages. Trusting this raw potential allows us to rely on something where the outcome may be unexpected, but often far better than what we originally hoped for. Through this process, we grow and evolve beyond our limitations.
“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
— Carl Jung, “Psychology and Alchemy”
“Prima Materia”
“Healing”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
150x200cm
SOLD
“Parallel”
2013
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
50x40cm
“Symphony”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas,
120x200cm,
SOLD
“Prima secunda”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
80x100cm
“Déjà Vu”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
80x60cm
SOLD
“Symphony”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas,
100x120cm,
SOLD
“Profit”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
50x60cm
“Piggybank”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
150x180cm
SOLD
“Open mind”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
140x120cm
SOLD
“Elixier”
2013
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
30x30cm
“In between”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
200x200cm
SOLD
“Apocalipse”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
200x180cm
“Intro”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
60x50cm
SOLD
“Prelude”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
50x60cm
SOLD
“Blow”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
50x40cm
“Hans Holbein”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
120x100cm
SOLD
“Light my fire”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
30x30cm
SOLD
“Lux”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
210x140cm
SOLD
“Connection”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
150x200cm
SOLD
“Friends”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
60x80cm
SOLD
“Go out”
2012
Acrylic/Oil on canvas
200x350cm
SOLD
Solo Exhibition, Alexander Ochs Galleries Beijing | Berlin
“The title Prima Materia, which Kott has chosen for her exhibition, references a term from alchemy that refers to the primordial substance that can be brought to perfection through a process of intentional transformation. Anna Kott's paintings embody both the primal substance and its transformation. Emotions and reactions find expression in the vastness of her often ironically charged motifs and in her restrained yet powerful color arrangements”.
Peer Golo Willi
Prima materia also symbolizes the process of personal transformation. Like this primordial substance, we often start in a state of disorder but are full of untapped potential that must first be shaped. Through the confrontation with our inner opposites—body and mind, intellect and emotion—we undergo a profound transformation. In this process, comparable to the metamorphosis of a cocoon, various aspects of our being merge, leading us to a new, matured version of ourselves.