“The picture with the ice bubbles was taken on the lake “Lake Abraham” in Canada. Despite the warnings of the lodge owner I went to the lake with its almost black ice. The picture is quite abstract, could also be pop art,” says Tom Jacobi

It’s Gallery Weekend in Berlin! Already last week the Hamburg photographer Tom Jacobi opened his exhibition “Into the Light” in the Berlin gallery SRC. Some of his large-format, black-and-white photographs were printed on silk by the Paris luxury label Hermès, which is unique to date. Tom Jacobi was a fashion photographer and art director for Stern magazine. Thereby he almost lost his passion for photography.

MyStylery: Congratulations on your coup with Hermès! How did that happen?
Tom Jacobi: Everybody takes photos on paper and so I had the idea to print on fabric, because I always look for a relation to nature. Silk was an obvious thought. Talks and tests followed and Hermès gave me an unexpected promise. Now the pictures are produced on original silk by Hermès in France.
MS: How old were you when you first held a camera in your hand?
TJ: 14 or 15. I was given a Novoflex and photographed the cat on the windowsill and sunsets.

Tom Jacobi: Peaceful Mind

MS: Back then, did you already have the idea of becoming a photographer?
TJ: Not until I was 17, when a photo of me was published in a book. It showed a Kendo master fighting with a Japanese sword. A sport that I practiced myself at that time. When you see a picture of yourself printed on paper for the first time, it’s a magic that I still feel today.
MS: Do you still print private photos?
TJ: Oh yes, I made a serious mistake when I gave my wife a photo album for her first birthday after we met, with self-adhesive photos, created layouts and handwritten comments. Since then I have been obliged to document our entire private lives and travels in old-fashioned photo albums. (laughs)

Tom Jacobi: Black Line

MS: Your father was the legendary journalist Claus Jacobi, editor-in-chief of Spiegel, Stern and BILD-Zeitung. Did that stop you from going into journalism yourself?
TJ: Totally. I would have exposed myself to the constant comparison. Through my friendship with Sven Simon, the son of publisher Axel Springer, I came to Bonn and worked there in his photo agency. I primarily photographed politicians such as Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl. Later I was a photographer for the “Stern”. With all the risks. During a reportage in Iran they put me against the wall and wanted to shoot me because I was considered a spy.
MS: Was that the reason why you haven’t photographed for 14 years?
TJ: No, that developed during my time as a fashion and advertising photographer. This commercial work and the wishes of the customers, to shoot the coat from the left or rather from the right, the car from above or below, completely drove me out of passion at that time. And why should a well-filled bank account be of any use if all creativity is lost? I just wasn’t happy with it anymore and even sold all my cameras because I was convinced that I would never photograph again.

Tom Jacobi: The Majestic

MS: Now you’re back with the camera. For the current exhibition “Into the Light” you even travelled around the globe for two years together with your wife Kati.
TJ: That was an exciting time, also for us as a couple. We love to be together. Kati also has a big influence on what I photograph. She is my corrective. (smiles) You become humble when you are travelling in the White Desert of Egypt, camping there with two Bedouins, without worrying about safety. In retrospect, it was risky.
MS: It happens that you sit on a cliff for five hours waiting for the right light. What is the right light, the right moment?
TJ: That I cannot say. It’s a feeling. My work has a lot to do with patience and discipline, often I wait days for the right moment, although I have researched the motifs very carefully before.

Tom Jacobi and I in front of a photo in the Berlin gallery SR Contemporary Art, which shows a huge salt desert in Bolivia at an altitude of 4,000 meters. Only during the rainy season water stands on the salt and creates this perfect mirror effect

MS: You are often far away from everything. How do you bear silence?
TJ: I like that very much. Not everyone can stand silence. Once I was accompanied by a friend who got nervous after a short time, which stressed me again. At that moment, I decided not to take anyone with me anymore. I am completely one with myself, there is something very contemplative about it.
MS: Was there a dangerous situation on your journey?
TJ: As a photographer, you’re always a hunter who takes risks. In Iceland, I wanted to go to a waterfall, where I fell several times over an icy surface and slid down a slope. A wasteland without a mobile phone net or the chance to be found. Then I bought a satellite-supported emergency call system. To die because of a broken ankle is quite unnecessary. BvH

Exhibition “Into the Light”

Tom Jacobi’s art exhibition in the Gallery SR Contemporary Art, Niebuhrstraße 11a in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Until May 20

Contact Tom Jacobi

tomjacobi.de

More art stories you can find here.

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Giovanni Battista Moroni: Portrait of the nobleman Prospero Alessandri (ca. 1560)

Vienna is, as you know, always worth a visit! The Albertina is currently showing more than one hundred outstanding paintings and sculptures from the exquisite collections of the Princely House of Liechtenstein (until June 10) – magnificent Old Masters, from Rubens to Makart. A good reason to visit the Danube metropolis. For a first impression (and for those of you who won’t make it to Vienna) I share my favorite selection of the most beautiful exhibits.

Antico: Bust of Marcus Aurelius (ca. 1500)

The House of Liechtenstein’s magnificent art collections rank among the most important and largest private collections in the world, comparable only to those of the British royal family. They comprise imposing sculptures and paintings of the Renaissance and the Baroque by Adriaen de Vries, Peter Paul Rubens und Anthonis van Dyck, superb works by the Italian and French artists Giambologna aka Giovanni da Bolgna, Canaletto and Hyacinthe Rigaud, masterpieces of the Viennese Biedermeier by Friedrich von Amerling and Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, as well as exquisite paintings of the Makart era.

Hans Makart: The Death of Cleopatra (1875)

The House of Liechtenstein, originally an Austrian noble dynasty, had held vast possessions in Lower Austria and Moravia since the Middle Ages. In 1599, Karl I von Liechtenstein converted from the Protestant faith to the Catholicism. In 1608 he received the title of bereditary prince and thus laid the foundation for the rise of the House of Liechtenstein. In the early eighteenth century the princely family’s diverse castles and palaces were transferred to the City Palace in Vienna.

Salviati: Portrait of a Man (ca. 1543-48)

Three hundred years ago, in 1719, Emperor Charles VI elevated the neighboring estates of Vaduz and Schellenberg to the status of Imperial Principality: Liechtenstein became a sovereign state within the Holy Roman Empire. From 1807 onward, Johann I von Liechtenstein had the extensive picture gallery transferred from the Viennese City Palace to the Summer Palace outside the town walls. In 1810, five years after Duke Albert, the Albertina’s founder, the House of Liechtenstein likewise made its collections accessible to the public.

Lucas van Valckenborch The Elder: The Parable of the Blind leading the Blind (after 1568)

A year earlier Prince Johann I von Liechtenstein had fought side by side with Generalissimo Archduke Carl in the Battle of Aspern (1809). He had this first victory over Napoleon’s troops, captured in a monumental painting by Johann Peter Krafft (now on view in the Albertina’s staterooms as a permanent loan from the Princely Collections).

Quentin Massys The Elder: The Tax Collectors (ca. 1525-30)

In the nineteenth century, Prince Alois II and his son, Johann II, became the most prominent patrons and collectors of Viennese Biedermeier art. Hundreds of Paintings by Waldmüller, Fendi, Amerling and Rudolf von Alt in today’s Viennese Collections go back to Johann II’s donations. The House of Liechtenstein’s collections survived the First World War and the downfall of the Habsburg monarchy unscathed.

Osias Beert The Elder: Large Still Life with Apples, Grapes and a Vase of Flowers (ca. 1600-20)

In the final weeks of the Second World War, they were relocated from Vienna to the neutral Principality of Liechtenstein for reasons of safety. In days of economic hardship and dispossessions following Europe’s division into East and West, many paintings were sold, including key works by Leonardo, Canaletto and Rubens. Only under Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein has the family’s art collection began to grow again substantially. Exhibiting the most beautiful and important masterpieces from the Princely Collections, the Albertina is celebrating the Principality’s 300^th anniversary in the palace of Duke Albert and Archduke Carl, both of whom once maintained such close relations with the House of Liechtenstein.

Source: Albertina Wien

Me infront of Ruben’s Portrait of his daughter Clara Serena (ca. 1616)

…come a bit closer…

Franz Jansz. van der Uyl: Breakfast Still Life with a Pewter Flagon (1635) – Fascinating details such as the silver bowl and the light reflections on the pot as to be seen here

Jan van Huysum: Flowers in a Terracotta Vase (ca. 1725) …note the three-dimensional depiction of the putti on the vase!

Peter Paul Rubens: Venus infront of the Mirror (ca. 1614/15) …and here the bangle of Venus as well as the mirror perspective!

Anthonis van Dyck: Portrait of a Woman (1618) …impressive filigree of lace and jewelry …

Anthonis von Dyck: Saint Jerome (ca. 1615/16)

Roelant Savery: A Bouquet of Flowers (1612)

Guiseppe Arcimboldo: Terra (Earth) ca. 1570

One of my favourite paintings of this exposition: “Landscape with the Young Tobias” by Jan Brueghel The Elder (1598). Even in the depth of the picture you will discover the finest detail depictions

Adriaen de Vries: Saint Sebastian (ca. 1613/14)

Peter Paul Rubens: Jan Vermoelen (1616)

Anthonis van Dyck: Maria de Tassis (ca. 1629/30)

Five centuries of art history

Gerrit Adriansz. Berckheyde: The Market Square in Haarlem (1661)

Frans Snyders: The Lioness (ca. 1620/30)

View into the exhibition rooms of the Albertina, in the back “The Battle between the Romans and Sabines” by Sebastiano Ricci (ca. 1700)

Domenico Guidi: Bust of Maria Annunciata (ca. 1670)

Franz Eybl: The Strawberry Seller of Hallstatt (1844)

Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow: Felix Schadow (ca. 1830)

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller: Roses (1843)

Franz Anton Zauner: Seated Figure of Clio (1779) – in the background paintings of Batoni

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller: Flowers in a Porcelain Vase with a Candlestick and Silver Vessels (1839)

Friedrich von Amerling: Princess Maria Franziska von Liechtenstein (1836)

Contact Albertina:

albertina.at

You can find more articles about art and culture here.

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The Albertina in Vienna. Here, you can see the great Raphael exhibition until the 7th of January 2018

Fans of art need to hurry: Only until January 7, 2018, the most significant exhibition of this exceptional Italian artist to date can be seen in the Albertina in Vienna. With around 130 drawings and 18 paintings, the exhibition brings together all of Raphael’s most important works: from the early Umbrian period (until 1504) through the years in Florence (1504-1508) to the Roman period (1508-1520), there are impressive works to look at from all creative phases. They are intended to explain Raphael’s meticulous thinking and working processes, from initial idea sketches to detailed and compositional studies and finally to the final painting. His masterful drawings alone made him one of the greatest draughts men of art history.

The Madonna with the Christ Child seating on a stone balustrade

Together with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo – whom he both worshiped – Raphael (1483-1520) is the great triumvirate of the Renaissance. Raphael, who was born as Raphaelo Santi in Urbino in 1483 and died in Rome in 1520 at the age of only 37, is considered a true universal genius. Whether as a painter and architect in Florence and Rome (inter alia as the site manager of St. Peter’s Basilica) or commissioned by popes and princes. Raphael’s drawings were already collected during his lifetime and are still considered to be a valuable treasure for important collectors. The founder of the Albertina, Duke Albert of Sachsen-Teschen owned more than 50 Raphael drawings alone.

Cecilie in front of a miniature model: The painted papal apartments of the Vatican Palace as a model version give an idea of the size and scope of individual commissioned works by Raphael

Numerous works from the Albertina collection and loans from world-famous museums, including the Uffizi Gallery, the Louvre, the Vatican Museums and the Royal Collection of British Queen Elizabeth II illustrate the work of Raphael, who was always in search of the balance between nature imitation and ideal picture.

Ranking among the most beautiful portrait drawings of the Renaissance is Raphael’s portrait of this graceful youth from 1503

According to Albertina director Klaus Albrecht Schröder after the shows about Van Gogh and Michelangelo, the chronologically designed exhibition is the third most expensive in the history of the Albertina. And – in my opinion – a ‘must-see’ for every art fan.  BvH

I particularly like the red-blue color concept of the exhibition rooms

Raphael is one of the most important masters of art history alongside Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo

The portrait of this comely young man shows the eminent banker and art-loving patron Bindo Altoviti in his early twenties and was formerly wrongly considered to be a self-portrait of Raphael

Raphael’s first self-portrait from 1506

Detailed red-chalk sheet of the Cumaean Sibyl

The Madonna dell ‘ Impannata painted on behalf of Bindo Altoviti. The painting was specially restored for the exhibition, which is why the colors are so expressive

Head of a Cherub (1509). Charcoal on paper

The Holy Family with a Lamb (1507). Oil on wood

Portrait of a 14 year old unknown young man

Me in front of the Madonna with Child (1508). The very fact that this painting is over 500 years old, I find already moving

Albertina and the Raphael exhibition:

albertina.at

More Vienna-tips you can find here: Ein perfekter Tag in Wien,  (A perfect day in Vienna) Part 1-3. A MyStylery-Series

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Steel giants: the 200-ton installation “Effondrement of Arcs”

When I recently spent a birthday weekend in the South of France with my friends, art collectors and patrons from Recklinghausen, I met a special encounter: The French artist Bernar Venet, one of the internationally outstanding sculptors of the present. His monumental steel sculptures adorn the metropolises around the world – from New York to Paris. Since 1987 the steel arch “Arc de 124,5°” has been located in Berlin at Urania place, a gift from France for the 750th anniversary of the city.

When I look at Bernar Venet’s colossal steel sculptures, the question arises as to how the individual, heavily torn, intertwined fragments are bent. Probably hardly by hand. Bernar Venet’s answer: “With the crane.” Accompany me and Bernar Venet on an exclusive walk through his art foundation in Provence.

In the former factory hall you can see early works by Bernar Venet from 1961 to 1966, pictures and reliefs from 1976 to 1984 as well as the “Indeterminate Surfaces”, which were created between 1995 and 1999

Three years ago Bernar Venet, who decided in 1963 to remove the “d” from his first name, founded his foundation. The artistic retreat of the sculptor, who, alongside Pierre Soulages, Martial Raysse and Robert Combas, is one of France’s post-war empires with the highest auction results, is off the beaten track of the Côte d’Azur in Le Muy, a small town above Cannes and Saint-Tropez.

“I work 28 hours a day, nine days a week,” says Bernar Venet, who exhibited at the Documenta in Kassel in 1977 and the following year at the Venice Biennale

On the site of a former factory and a water mill from the 16th century, Bernar Venet found a place that allowed him to combine three things: firstly, to exhibit his gigantic works in a hangar-like hall and a sculpture garden. Secondly, to show his important, minimalistic art collection for the first time publicly. And thirdly, to produce such large formats as never before.

My hosts Bernar and Diane Venet

Bernar Venet and his wife Diane, with “Venet Foundation”, made it their task to make accessible and show the work of other artists friends like Donald Judd, Sol Lewitt and Dan Flavin, to the public. On our walk through the five-acre property he bought in 1989, we walk past work by Anthony Caro, Carl Andre, Richard Long, Tony Cragg, Tony Smith, Philip King, Robert Morris, Larry Bell, and Ulrich Rückriem – and the chapel built by Frank Stella for the sculpture garden and decorated with metal reliefs.

In 2017 also the US artist Fred Sandback is honored with the solo exhibition “Pedestrian Space”. And occasionally the collection of Bernar Venet is supplemented by new exhibits. The largest work in the park was created by Venet himself: a 200-ton sculpture of steel arches, which, by the way, are not the result of a mathematical calculation, but are followed by chance. There I stand, dive into the landscape of the South of France, listen to the sound of the river, notice the chirping of the crickets, and can not turn my gaze from these steel giants.  BvH

In the former factory, the visitors always open up to surprising vistas

Visit to the Venet Foundation:

Guided tours are offered in the summer (until 15 September) Thursday afternoons and all-day Fridays. Duration of guided tours approx. 1.5 hours. Only possible with online pre-registration on pre-defined dates. Entrance fee 15 Euros. More information at venetfoundation.org.

The Solo Exhibition 2017:

In the gallery, the solo exhibition “Pedestrian Space” by the US artist Fred Sandback is shown in 2017 …

… view from the gallery to Bernar Venet’s monumental works outside

The Sculpture Park:

View to the former factory, today the center of the Bernar Venet Foundation – infront the work of the artist

The pool is a design by the artist François Morellet in 2008

“Each of my works starts with a 30 to 40 centimeter model. I can see what is artistically interesting. I am looking for aspects that have not existed before, and how I can push the boundaries of sculpture a bit.”

Venet, who lived in New York for almost five decades, described his basic concept as “undefined lines”

Nestled in a romantic park in the South of France …

… is the 16th century mill, which contains parts of Bernar Venet’s collection as well as his private rooms

The Endre, a 29 kilometer river in Le Muy, a place in Provence. The romantic park of the Bernar Venet Foundation stretches on both sides

A tunnel with an “aww”: Through the corrugated hallway of rusty Corten steel, visitors reach the Endre river, which runs along the five-hectare park

“When the sun is at the right angle, there are hundreds of light bubbles glittering inside,” says Bernar Venet, describing the walls perforated by holes

In the studio of Frank Stella, Bernar Venet was inspired by six imposing wall reliefs: “I had a huge respect for him, he was already a giant back then. Still, I wrote a number on a piece of paper, Stella added 40 percent, and I collected the sum within a year.”

Now the reliefs are part of this chapel in the sculpture park and Stella the best friend of Venet

“The collection represents the history of our lives”, says Venet about his works shown here and those of his friends, who are all unsalable

“There are many people who are able to experience access to art only in the public space and discover with pleasure, what contemporary art is and can do.”

A new addition: This work of art will still find its place in the sculpture park

Larry Bell: Something Green, 2017, laminated glass, 244 x 1219 x 244 cm

Robert Morris: Labyrinth, 2012, Fencing, 213 x 1371 x 427 cm

A work of iron chains by the French artist Arman, a close friend of Bernar Venet – the 16th century mill in the background

Steel giants: The biggest work in the sculpture park comes from Bernar Venet himself

The tree trunks are produced in China with a lead alloy, each weighing six tons. Other objects are also produced in France and Hungary

Everything is ready for a lunch with friends on a perfect summer day in the South of France

Bernar et moi: Merci beaucoup!

Contact Bernar Venet:

bernarvenet.com

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Judith Milberg’s exhibition “Out of the Center” at HypoVereinsbank, Leibnizstraße 100 in Berlin-Charlottenburg from July 18th to August 10th, 2017

Looking at the images of the Munich artist Judith Milberg, the eye looks at finely-drawn lines, which meet in color patches, and from there, spin around fantastic formations in powdery color sequences such as spiders. One associates blossoms, branches, fruits, crystals, cancer scissors, stones, dandelions, fabulous beings from underwater worlds. At first I do not think of lace doilies at all. But this is precisely what Judith Milberg uses in the works of her current exhibition “Aus der Mitte” (Out of the Center), which was first shown in Munich and can be seen in the HypoVereinbank from July 18th.

The artistic multi-talent Judith Milberg explains her works gesticulating with hands and – if needed – with use of the entire body

MyStylery: Judith, what was the impulse to use lace doilies in your pieces?
Judith Milberg: I ​​love the overlooked things that have fallen out of time, and I especially like the philosophy of the lace doily: a complex, symmetrical form follows the laws of nature, from a flower to the universe.
MS: My grandmother used to decorate her kitchen with them, which we laughed at as children.
JM: Yes, and I’m interested in that. The craft, the tradition and what is the story behind it. I am interested in all the craft techniques, I also know a lot of them. Only welding I can’t do. But I’m learning it this summer. (Laughing).

The paintings by the Munich artist Judith Milberg fascinate with the abundance and variety of ornamental and floral motifs

MS: For many years, you have been collecting items that are used in your pictures and objects. With you, even the ordinary plastic fly clapper has a chance.
JM: The art is to recognize the beauty and poetry of the objects, I then transform them in my artistic work. It is my love and affinity for the seemingly banal that drives me to collect these things.
MS: You hear colors and you see tones: When did you realize you were a synaesthetic?
JM: Even as a child, I just did not know the term for it back then. I thought everyone would see like that. For me the letter ‘P’ is a pigeon blue, ‘A’ a dark blue, and ‘U’ is yellow. Even when listening to classical music, the colors shoot into my head. That’s why I cannot listen to music when painting. I believe this is the reason why I cannot give my pictures a title. I just cannot find words.

In the work process, Judith Milberg superimposes and abstracts its structures in many layers and fuses them together into poetic surreal works of dynamic elegance

MS: What would you like to be measure with your art?
JM: I would like to be perceived as an artist who works independently of trends. I am very glad to have taken the first step into the public with my pictures and I am grateful that people like my pictures and want to talk about it with me.
MS: You’ve been painting for so many years. Why do you only show your pictures now?
JM: I wanted to be sure I knew I was ready. I am now.  BvH

40 new paintings and works on paper are exhibited by Judith Milberg in the Berlin exhibition

About Judith Milberg:

Born in Munich, Judith Milberg studied art history, Egyptology and communications science. While still studying, she founded her company for art management, curated exhibitions, issued books, and archived private art collections. In addition, Judith Milberg designed and realized numerous art and cultural projects for business, museums and cultural institutions. She was also an author, designer and TV presenter. With paintings and works on paper, the artist presents herself for the first time publicly.

Often Judith Milberg uses acrylic, linoleum paint, print, spray and crayon on canvas

 In Judith Milberg’s Studio:

Judith Milberg: “I want to encourage people to discover something extraordinary even in the seemingly invisible.”

A visit to the artist’s studio in München-Nymphenburg: Here Judith Milberg’s work is made

Judith Milberg shows me her finds, which are often used in her works, like this treasure chest with old pens

Judith Milberg keeps her rarities on long shelf-meters

Often they are bizarre everyday objects that Judith Milberg collects manically and gets inspired by them

Contact Judith Milberg:

judithmilberg.de

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Haralampi Oroschakoff in his studio …

The atelier of artist Haralampi Oroschakoff is located in a 30’s building of an industrial district in West Berlin. Although I know the Austrian-born for many years now, this is my first visit to the nearly 300-square-meter studio, which offers huge windows with a view into a garden settlement. Light shines into the loft-like rooms in which the largely sized pictures of Oroschakoff arise. The avowed Wiener comes from the Old Russian noble family of the Boyars Haralamow-Oreschak, which can be traced back to the eleventh century. For 16 years the internationally successful artist lives with his wife, Countess Diana von Hohenthal und Bergen and the joint children in the German capital. His works hang at the walls of celebrities like Vicky Leandros, Jette Joop or Princess Firyal of Jordan. Nevertheless, his artistic career has always been a struggle for recognition.

… which is located in a 30’s building of an industrial district in West Berlin

MyStylery:  An artist’s studio automatically associates the idea of creative chaos. I’m amazed by the tidiness of your place – it’s downright homely…
Haralampi G. Oroschakoff: To me the atelier is not only a think tank, but also the last place that offers me some personal freedom. I also need to feel comfortable and this is why the rooms haven’t been reduced in their expediency.

“I need to feel comfortable and this is why the rooms haven’t been reduced in their expediency.”

MS: What does the initial ‘G’ in your name stand for?
HGO: Georgijewitsch.
MS: Your father was a successful steel producer in Vienna, where you spent parts of your childhood. You could have followed his footsteps.
HGO: My father never got over the loss of the Russian Empire and the fall of the aristocracy. I should have taken over the factory, but after a year it was clear that this wouldn’t be something for me. I often overslept, thought it’s more amusing to go for Lunch instead of driving to construction sites. My father was also a mathematician and structural engineer, for example he built the Franz-Josef train station in Vienna. I, however, was an incredibly bad student who flew from ten boarding schools.
MS: Did your father make you feel that?
HGO: He never talked with me, only talked to me. Even when I exhibited at the Biennale in 1988, he remained implacable. Only when Forbes listed me as newcomer star next to Jeff Koons and Franz West in 1990 my father understood and even came to an exhibition in Belgrade.

On the wall in Haralampi’s office posters of his exhibitions

MS: That must have been very sad for you to experience no recognition as a young person.
HGO: As a child I was a silent, soul-searching powerhouse. I have much compensated by sport, I played tennis, rode horses, later drove classic car rallies. And I painted. For me drawing was thinking with a pencil.

Haralampis great-great-grandfather was the Royal Regent of Serbia. On the left: “Different Worlds (17)” , 2013; On the right hand side: “Different Worlds (30)”, 2014

MS: Why did you quit the Viennese academy of arts after only three months?
HGO: The structures were too rigid. I always hated dogmas and ideologies. It’s an inner ambivalence in me. As an artist I have to destroy things to create something new. I have actually damaged my career three times itself.
MS: What do you mean?
HGO: In the 80s I got the needed media attention to be considered as successful. But this was not enough for me and in the 90s I felt I had to face up to Eastern Europe, also as a tribute to my roots. At the turn of the millennium I went to Berlin. However my gallerists didn’t support my decision. It was always a new beginning.

“True personalities only exist barely those days. Nowadays it’s all about consumption and verbal egalitarianism.”

MS: The extreme lifestyle and the provocation seem to be parts of your personality.
HGO (laughs): The dandy and aristocrat always irritated the art scene, merely by their appearance. I also maintained these relationships, including drinking bouts and brawls – but always with the necessary elegance.
MS: The ‘Paris Bar’ in Berlin has been your second living room for years. Nowadays you seem to be very brave. Don’t you miss something?
HGO: Let’s say it like that: I mostly said adieu to vodka. I’ll come back.
MS: You describe yourself as a family man. Does family play such an important role to you due to your childhood experiences?
HGO: I consider myself a “penultimate member” in the family series. That’s why I have to give more living tradition to the next generation. This does not only include friendship and respect, honor and responsibility. I also hope that later, my children are going to preserve my work. BvH

Argo 3, 2012

With the double-cross series Haralampi Oroschakoff succeeded an international breakthrough. With the historical fiction book “Die Battenberg Affaire” (“The Battenberg Affair”) Oroschakoff also made himself a name as book author

Today, paintings, drawings and texts are from equivalent expression for Oroschafkoff. Here the artwork “Different Worlds” (31), 2014

Haralampi Oroschakoff: A Dandy in the art scene, who turns up rock music of Lou Reed and Metallica whilst working

Haralampi Oroschakoff: I’ll come back

While the large-format works of Haralampi Oroschakoff arise in the studio in Berlin, he paints Aquarelle on the family estate in Cannes: “With a sea view and an incredibly beautiful light.”

A real Grandseigneur: Haralampi Oroschakoff speaks Russian, French, English, Bulgarian – and Viennese.

Contact:

www.oroschakoff.com

Merken

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The Kreuzberg near Krumau, 1910

During my last visit to Vienna, I went to the current special exhibition by the painter Egon Schiele. The Vienna Albertina has one of the largest collections of Schiele. At the beginning of the 2018 commemorative year, which marks the 100th anniversary of Schiele’s death, the Albertina now presents a comprehensive exhibition from its collection of Egon Schiele’s work. It presents 180 of his most beautiful gouaches and drawings, dealing with themes such as the existential loneliness of man in drastic contrast to the values ​​of the society of Fin de Siècle.

Self-Portrait with Peacock-Waistcoat, 1911

In addition to his memories of the time in the Austrian town of Krumau and various self-portraits, the Schiele exhibition contains numerous representations of children and acts of young girls. The children came from the street, from the working class milieu and Schiele staged them in his pictures as “aesthetic material”, not as an idealized form of eroticism. Although surprisingly many artists of his time – including the painters Oskar Kokoschka and Gustav Klimt – paid homage to the ideal of the child. In my opinion, this kind of representation has something disturbing and abnormal.

Seated Nude Girl, 1911

At the same time Schiele’s drawings reveal the suffering and the adverse living conditions of the poor population in the nineteenth century. His pictures are not pleasing, but go away from the aesthetics of the beautiful to the ugly. While Schiele is regarded as part of the artistic and intellectual elite of the turn of the century, the staging of the exhibition in the Albertina follows a different principle: large, floating pictures confront the artist’s radical work with the reality of his environment. They form the real background, which illustrates the discrepancy between Schiele’s work and the surrounding society. And that is equally impressive and shocking. BvH

About Egon Schiele:

Egon Schiele was born in 1890 in Tulln, Lower Austria. Early on, his painterly talent became apparent, and he was admitted to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in 1906, with just 16 years. After two years, Schiele left the academy – disappointed with the rigid Academy Day – and founded the Viennese Neukunstgruppe with some fellow students. In 1911 he moved from Vienna to Krumau, together with his most famous model, the then 17-year-old Wally Neuzil. An artistically productive period began. The old town of Krumau became Schiel’s favorite motif. His lifestyle, however, was regarded as offensive with Wally because of the “wild marriage”. The visits of children to Schiele’s studio brought him to trial for alleged abuse for 24 days.

In 1912 he returned to Vienna. Thanks to his patron and paternal friend, the painter Gustav Klimt, he was able to re-establish himself quickly in Vienna and again enjoyed great success in the Austrian art scene. In 1915 Schiele married his longtime friend Edith Harms. Edith demanded from Schiele the break with Wally Neuzil, which he did, with heavy heart. In 1918 Egon Schiele was dedicated to the 49th exhibition of the Vienna Secession, where he exhibited 19 large paintings and 29 drawings. Toward the end of the First World War the Austrian capital was overrun by the Spanish flu. Edith Schiele, who was pregnant in the sixth month, succumbed to this illness in the autumn of 1918. Schiele had stuck up and died only three days later with only 28 years.

Sunflowers, 1911

Standing Girl, 1910

Blond Nude Model on Brown Cloth, 1912

Triestinian Fishing Boat, 1912

Old Houses in Krumau, 1914

Old Gabled Houses in Krumau, 1917

Edith Schiele, 1915 …

… and her Sister Adele Harms

Female Nude

Reclining Female Nude with Legs Spread Apart, 1914

Three Girls, 1911

Poster of the 49th Exhibition of the Secession, 1918

Anton Josef Trcka: Egon Schiele posing, 1914

Egon Schiele in the Albertina

“Between Modernity and Tradition”: 22 February to 18 June 2017

Contact Albertina:

albertina.at

Merken

Merken

Merken

The post The Egon Schiele Exhibition in Vienna appeared first on My Stylery.

Christian Awe’s paintings arise, while sprayed patterns are overlapped by lots of layers of acryl color, in order to expose them at some points afterwards again

Christian Awe dabbes his eyes with Aloe Vera: “Apparently this helps with sunburns”, he says, pointing to the redness beneath his right eye. “I underestimated the sun in Gießen.” Here, the Berlin artist holds lectures on Urban art at the Justus Liebig University. He used to illegally spray-paint walls of houses, today he is an internationally recognized artist.

„A certain amount of chaos is pretty beneficial and also somehow inspiring for art”, comments Christian Awe in his atelier-atmosphere with a wink

A visit to the studio of Christian Awe in Berlin Lichtenberg: a large bright room, cluttered with large format canvases. Colors in different variants. In the background a sofa corner. Why has he opted for the working-class district of Lichtenberg, where there seems to be quite attractive areas in Berlin. “I grew up here, and travel around the world several months each year. This is my home, my anchor point.” Of course he would have already been living in Mitte-district. The Friedrichshain-area? Nah. Rather not. It’s too established, too touristy; it just lacks creativity. “Even in the Spandau-district more is happening. Lichtenberg was a tough district for years, but with good working conditions.”

Christian Awe studied with Georg Baselitz, graduated as a master student of Daniel Richter

Awe, who studied at the University of the Arts in Berlin with Georg Baselitz, graduated as a master student of Daniel Richter, chose next to art the subject sports. Isn’t that a rather unusual combination? “No, not at all”, Awe laughs. “Painting has a lot to do with movement.” And he tells about the ‘Kunst am Bau’-projects (Art-in-Architecture) where he is acting partly in wind and rain in 33 meters height. Twelve weeks he worked for the wall painting in Lichtenberg , every day he had to go up the scaffolding 20 time. That’s 6 times down Mount Everest and up again. Wasn’t he ever afraid of heights? No, now he isn’t, it’s all a matter of training. “The truck swings up to one and a half meters. I sometimes ask myself, why I actually do this.”

Working material – organization in a creative chaos

In fact, he has done a lot of sport, which earned him the title “German Champion” in streetball. “I always loved Basketball, but there wasn’t any in the GDR”, says Christian Awe and grins: “For us, it was called netball.” He tells how he experienced the fall of the Berlin Wall with eleven. There was a cultural vacuum, familiar structures broke away, the old sports clubs were suddenly gone. The kids were hanging out on the street. “Nevertheless, there was a lot of energy for the emergence of the graffiti scene, which was also an expression of that hip hop culture.” At that time, a cultural space developed, from which the hype Berlin still benefits.

Art-works in progress and in the middle a suitcase: Christian Awe is always on the run

Christian Awe, who now can look back on solo exhibitions in Istanbul, Perm and Miami and has taught at Princeton University and at Yale, made the jump from the Urban Art to the art galleries. And he committs himself to others: charity painting in favor of SOS Children’s Villages, art workshops for young people and the project ‘The young Mesopotamia’ , which is about the reconstruction of art and culture in Iraq. Most recently, he supported the construction of a school in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

Finished works ready for shipping

With his wall paintings, he wants to put a focus on the democracy of art. “Nowadays a lot is getting lost in our society, lots of people are excluded. I try to bring art outside, onto the streets. I think art and culture are the main components that hold our community together”, he explains his big pictures, of which the wall painting ‘Andanzé’ with the size of a tennis court recently got revealed during the Berlin Gallery Weekend in Schöneberg.

15 helpers were needed to install the wall painting Adanzé, which has the size of a tennis court, at the exterior wall

Ceremonial unveiling in Schöneberg with movie screening in the ‘Odeon’ movie theatre during the last Berlin Gallery Weekend

Only the wall painting in Lichtenberg is 500 square meters big. Apparently the difficulty is to translate the movement in the size. “Actually I prefer to start working just right away. But this is not possible in terms of such a big picture. There must be a draft and rough arrangements.” The Lichtenberger wall painting brought 36,000 points of transfer. Grids have been created and every point has been sketched, therefore 13,000 meters of tape were used. And he adds: “Every painting that is bigger than five meters is vast. That’s probably why so few painters, that are good in painting broadsheets, exist.”

A new work-series: three-dimensional water drops

It seems like Christian Awe doesn’t like stagnations. Someone like him, who also gets up during the night to paint, always has a new project in the pipeline: a series of works, which seem to be mirrored in three-dimensional water drops. One stands in front of the painting and wonders oneself about the amazing, real effect. Those works are currently presented in the Dusseldorf gallery Ludorff within the scope of the group exhibition “Open Water” with works of other artists like Max Liebermann and Gerhard Richter. Definitely an illustrious society, you would think. “I’m kind of like ‘the new kid on the block’”, answers Christian Awe a little bit sheepishly, “but it’s pretty awesome to be shown on such a scope.” BvH

Some more of the three-dimensional water drops

Time for relaxation is a must

In actual preparation are exhibitions in the Berlin gallery Fahnemann, in Frankfurt together with the Deutsche Bank, the gallery Tristan Lorenz and also in the art association Bad Dürkheim as well as another ‘Art-in-Architecture’-project in Miami

You can also see his previous works in his monograph, which will be released soon

“The colorfulness of the graffiti era still shapes my paintings. Nevertheless, my pictures have nothing to do with street art anymore.”

Contact:
www.christianawe.com

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