Liminal Spaces

Reverse-glass painting

Liminal spaces are places perceived as empty of human presence, suspended momentarily outside the flow of time — in other words, non-places. At once painterly and uncanny, they mark transitions between what has been and what is yet to come. In the work of Fride Wirtl-Walser (born 1932), such ambiguous spatial situations are ever-present, forming a kind of gallery of in-between worlds.

Wirtl-Walser studied sculpture at the Stuttgart Academy of Fine Arts, as well as painting and glass art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. She lives in Peiting in Upper Bavaria and is regarded as one of the leading contemporary exponents of reverse glass painting.

Reverse glass art is a symbiosis of artisanal precision and aesthetic ambition, of light refraction and spatial depth. It is ideally suited to an aesthetic of ambiguity, uncanniness and beauty. By applying paint to the reverse side of the glass pane, a smooth, cool surface is created that both distances the viewer’s eye and simultaneously draws it deeply into the image. The brilliance of the glass lends the colours an almost surreal luminosity.

From the artist’s generous donation to the Bavarian National Museum in 2025, 38 works are on display, presenting fascinating views of natural and artificial, concrete and abstract spaces. Each bears witness to the artist’s imagination and creativity, reflecting her inner attitude, way of thinking and fundamental mental outlook. Together, they invite visitors on a richly varied visual expedition.