Gretta Louw

{{Infobox artist

| name = Gretta Louw

| image =Conconn screenshot Gretta.jpg

| caption = Controlling_Connectivity, screenshot from networked performance at Art Laboratory Berlin, Gretta Louw, 2011.

| birth_name =

| birth_date = 1981

| birth_place = Dundee, South Africa

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = Australian

| movement =

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| field = new media art, net art, digital art

| training =Bachelor of Arts (2001), and Honours in Psychology (2002), University of Western Australia.

| works =

}}

Gretta Louw (born 1981){{cite web |title=Gretta Louw |url=https://www.artland.com/artists/gretta-louw |website=Artland |access-date=3 September 2021}} is a multi-disciplinary artist who has worked with artforms as varied as digital media and networked performance, installation and video art, and fibre art. She lives and works in Germany and Australia. Her artistic practice explores the potential of art as a means of investigating psychological phenomena, particularly in relation to new technologies and the internet. Her focus is on how new digital technologies are shaping contemporary experience.Louw, Gretta, Works 2011–2014 / Arbeiten 2011–2014, Verlag Einraumhaus c/o, Mannheim (2014).

Biography

Gretta Louw was born in South Africa and grew up in Australia. She graduated in 2001 from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Arts, and in 2002 completed her Honours degree in Psychology.{{cite web|url=http://www.fluxfactory.org/fluxers/gretta-louw/|title=Gretta Louw – Flux Factory|website=www.fluxfactory.org}}

Exhibitions

OK. Video Flesh, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia, 2011.
Controlling_Connectivity (solo exhibition), Art Laboratory Berlin, 2011; curators: Regine Rapp und Christian de Lutz.de Lutz, Christian, [http://www.artlaboratory-berlin.org/assets/pdf/Controll_Connect Engl_essay.pdf|“Too Artful to be a Virtual Soul.” Performance, Psychology and Social Media in Gretta Louw’s project Controlling_Connectivity]{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, November 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
Video Art For All, Fundação Oriente, Macau, 2012.
Moving the Still, Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, USA, 2012; curator: Nowness.
On Off Moments, Grimmuseum Berlin, 2013; curator: Amelie Wedel.
Weiss auf Weiss (solo exhibition), TEN Gallery, Mannheim, 2014; curator: Heinrich Gartentor, Solothurn, Schweiz.
Hybrids, Stadtgalerie Mannheim, 2014; curator: Benedikt Stegmayer.
Bitrates - GIFbites, Dar-ol-Hokoomeh Project at Shiraz Artist House, Shiraz, Iran, 2014; curators: Morehshin Allahyari und Daniel Rourke.
Deltabeben, Kunstverein Ludwigshafen, Germany, 2014; curator: Barbara Auer.
Me Vs Internet (solo exhibition), Stadtgalerie Mannheim, 2014; curator: Benedikt Stegmayer.
Representation Vs Reality, AVU Gallery, Prague, 2014; curator: Benedikt Stegmayer.
Net Work, PLATFORM Gastatelier, Munich, 2014; curator: Gretta Louw.
Everybody Lies (On the internet), Pixxelpoint Festival, City Gallery, Nova Gorica, Slovenia, 2014; curator: Igor Štromajer.{{cite web|url=http://grettalouw.com/EverybodyLies.html|title=Gretta Louw|website=grettalouw.com}}
Radiance, Form Gallery, Perth, Australia, 2015; curator: Sharmila Wood.
Jiggling Golems, Goethe Institute, Athens, 2015; curator: Mariana Ziku.
Homo Faber - ARTour Biennale, Centre de la Gravure et de l’image Imprimée, La Louviere, Belgium, 2015; curator: Jacques Urbanska.
1984, Papierfabrik, Dachau, 2015; curator: Johannes Karl.
Maintenance Mode, Public Space One, Iowa, USA, 2015; curator: Beatrice Drysdale.
LAB 3.0, Unpainted Digital Art Fair, Munich, 2016; curator: Annette Doms.
NARGIFSUS, Transfer Gallery, New York City, 2016; curators: Carla Gannis, Tina Sauerländer.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/nargifsus-selfies-gif-art-exhibit-transfer/|title=More Than 50 GIF Artists Take On Selfie Culture|last=Palop|first=Benoit|date=19 March 2016|website=Creators|access-date=2 April 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://newhive.com/b/selfie-self-portraits-an-interview-with-the-curators-of-nargifsus/|title=Selfie-Self Portraits: An Interview with the Curators of NARGIFSUS|last=Howard|first=Lindsay|date=22 March 2016|website=NewHive|access-date=2 April 2017}}
Networking the Unseen, Furtherfield Gallery, London, 2016; curator: Gretta Louw.{{Cite web|url=http://www.furtherfield.org/programmes/exhibition/networking-the-unseen|title=Networking the Unseen|date=June 2016|website=Furtherfield|access-date=2 April 2017}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.aqnb.com/2016/08/17/networking-the-unseen-furtherfield-gallery-reviewed/|title=Networking the Unseen @ Furtherfield Gallery reviewed|date=17 August 2016|website=aqnb|access-date=2 April 2017}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.digicult.it/news/mediating-beach-a-comment-on-networking-the-unseen-exhibition/|title=Mediating Beach. A comment on "Networking the Unseen" exhibition|last=Lorenzin|first=Filippo|website=Digicult|access-date=2 April 2017}}
Monsters of the Machine, LABoral, Gijón, Spain, 2016; curator: Marc Garrett.{{Cite web|url=http://www.laboralcentrodearte.org/en/exposiciones/monsters-of-the-machine|title=Monsters of the Machine|date=November 2016|website=Laboral Centro de Arte e Creación Industrial|access-date=1 April 2017}}
Selfciety, whiteBOX Gallery, Munich, 2017; curator Benjamin Jantzen.{{Cite web|url=http://www.whitebox-muenchen.de/en/projects/selfciety/|title=Selfciety|date=January 2017|website=whitebox|access-date=2 April 2017}}
No Secrets, Stadtmuseum München, Munich, 2017; curator: Rudolf Scheutle.{{Cite book|title=Bilder der Überwachung: Reiz und Gefahr digitaler Selbstüberwachung|publisher=Rudolf Scheutle (Münchner Stadtmuseum) und Dr. Sabine Adler (ERES-Stiftung)|year=2017|isbn=978-3-00-056058-3}}

Prizes and awards

2011: Karin Abt-Straubinger Stiftung Projektförderung
2012: Finalistin der OK.Video Art Preis
2014: Heinrich Vetter Preis der Stadt Mannheim
2016–2020: Atelier Stipendium der Landeshauptstadt München im Atelierhaus Baumstrasse
2016–2017: Bahnwärter Stipendium der Stadt Esslingen am Neckar

Other projects

Networking the Unseen: a curatorial project exploring contemporary indigeneity and what artists outside the European mainstream can teach us about digitalisation - with many collaborative works by Louw and the Warnayaka Art Centre (a Warlpiri Aboriginal Art and Cultural Association in Lajamanu, Northern Territory, Australia. The first iteration of the exhibition was shown at Furtherfield Gallery in London in 2016,{{cite web|url=http://archive.furtherfield.org/programmes/programmes/networking-unseen|title=Networking the Unseen at Furtherfield Gallery}} and the second at Villa Merkel museum in Esslingen, Germany in 2017-2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.villa-merkel.de/index.php?id=79|title=Networking the Unseen at Villa Merkel}}
Avatar as Prosthesis: an exploration of the possibilities for artistic production and collaborative projects in the field of inclusive art practices opened up by digital avatars; Munich, 2016–2017.{{cite web|url=http://avatarasprosthesis.com/|title=Avatar as Prosthesis -|website=Avatar as Prosthesis}}
The Cloud: a series of ongoing tasks that incorporates performance, video, digital collages, installation etc. and addresses the marketing techniques around cloud computing.{{cite web|url=http://grettalouw.com/thecloud.htm|title=Gretta Louw|website=grettalouw.com}}
Gif Portrait: a project that allowed anyone to commission an animated digital art portrait of themselves or someone else and, in doing so, contribute to the development of a net-based gesamtkunstwerk. GIF Portrait is a radical re-thinking of the traditional genre of portraiture, capturing and representing you in a format that is fit for the digital age.{{Cite web |url=http://www.gifportrait.net/ |title=GIF Portrait |access-date=2017-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317163550/http://www.gifportrait.net/ |archive-date=2017-03-17 |url-status=dead }}

References

Category:1981 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century Australian women artists

Category:21st-century Australian artists

Category:Australian digital artists

Category:University of Western Australia alumni

Category:Women digital artists