Gesammtvorstellung
Gesammtvorstellung for me is the means to deliver an undeliverable message in between lines and meanings by the visual language of traditional oil painting. I'm exploring a big question of what it means to be human (or animal, or any other part of the Biosphere) by painting the life to the fullest I can get.
Gesammtvorstellung is loosely translated from German as "the aggregate or collective idea, the multiplicity of separate units held before the mind voluntary and selectively, Idea of Imagination, intellectual framework of the Concept (unnecessarily complex by itself)".
My paintings are not "art for artists", they are created to become a 'member of the family', so kids would grow with them. Non-intrusive, but quiet painting on the wall that talks to you only when you are ready for conversation. It would also talk your language, it will keep up even when you grow. My paintings are about life as I see and imagine it. They are everyday non-verbal conversations about big topic.
My work is a possibility for a story constructed by weaving together different realities. It is intended to talk about the viewer's issues and in the viewer's language, on his/her level of understanding, kids and grown ups alike. I'm creating contemporary folktales. The key themes in my paintings are interactions among people, landscapes, animals, ants, bacterias, plants, beasts, gods, toys, machines, crowds, armies. I'm telling the story of life on Earth and collective learning as a biosphere using scientific mythology. I'm exploring the history of abuse of the Biosphere by the Biosphere, adaptive radiation, radioactivity, time, new sources of energy, looking both back and forward.
I'm interested in anthropology, myths, fairy tales and legends, games – I believe they carry inner meaning, something in between words, pictures and lines - they share that with music. The language of painting is like a symphony of light. Light is not influenced by time because time travels with the speed of light: therefore, for the light itself time stays still. Colors are the bendings of light wave, they are essential to me, they are my means of communication. Colors have immediate impact (very specific to binocular color vision), you can't escape them.
I use traditional oil painting techniques with some of the newest top of the line improvements in archival and safety areas. I stretch my own canvases, I prepare painting surfaces with meticulous attention to each aspect of the process. For me it’s like in Sumi or icon painting – the beginning of the work itself, like a premeditation. I visualize the future work, then start to fit the idea into a format.
Dimensions are very important to me. Generally, most of my works are of a 'human manageable' size, you can see them in one sight. I do some panoramic works, but still, you can travel along, they are not overwhelming.
