Elke Michelle Schnepel

Elke Michelle Schnepel was a self taught German artist, whose artistic practice can be associated with Outsider Art (Art Brut), Naïve Art, and New Age Art. Schnepel explored the theme of magic realism within her works. She was mainly active in the 1960s and 1970s, when she exhibited alongside the works of artists, such as Max Ernst and Ernst Fuchs.

Schnepel’s surreal piece The Woman Who Forgot Her Hat, Her Hymen, and Her Handbag incorporates a variety of unusual forms and shapes that intertwine, seemingly embodying a path. This interpretation of the drawing fits the title. Viewers can imagine the woman losing her possessions along this hectic path. The foreground of the piece conveys a sense of chaos, ruggedness, masculinity and to some extent even brutality.