Living Space; Portraits through Appreciative Inquiry
Kossmann worked in oil paint and etching ink to produce 120 pieces of art: abstract portraits of 30 people, with four pieces created for each of the participating sitters. Rather than using a traditional portraiture sitting, resulting in a work based on a person’s physicality, she painted an interpretation of each sitter’s response to an “appreciative inquiry,” an inquiry that probes respondents’ strengths. In short, facilitated essays, sitters—all survivors of complex relational trauma and sexual violence—told their stories, explored their qualities, achievements, goals, as well as their concepts of safety and love.
Breathing Space
Breathing Space is the based on the common themes that Kossmann identified during the Living Space interviews. It explores connection to earth and atmosphere, sensuality and intimacy, resilience and growth, and the spirit of living spontaneously and joyfully. An exhibition scheduled in November and December 2024 at Artsplace features this ongoing work.