Artist Statement

I have been paining for 40 years now, neither a short, nor a long time. In this interval, I have gone through several phases and stylistic convictions in accordance with a particular point in my journey through life.

In the 1980s, I preoccupied myself with the painting process (primary painting) which was freed from all representation or intimation and appearance of being. Hedonistic enjoyment in the application of painterly matter resulted in a kind of HAIKU painting. The color scale of the paintings derives from the cold end of the spectrum.

During the stormy 90s, and while rebelling against everything in existence, my paintings transcended the traditional rectangular physical shape, assumed a number of geometrical variations and began to form new, interlocking works. Thus, it became possible to extend the creative act from the studio into the gallery and equated my spiritual condition with the act of creation.

In the late 90s, a new phase begins with the arrival in North America, a phase full of questions and search for answers. Torn between what was, what is and what will be, I initially focused on paintings reminiscent of the past. The work from this period is still abstract, but imbued with significantly more color and the strokes are more free, less strictly controlled. The relationship between cold and warm notes now results in a harmonized composition which carries a certain dose of optimism.

Early in 20008, figures finally make their entrance into my work. Inspired by Inuit art, I borrowed their motifs and presented in the Modernist context. Through the use of “quotations,” I posed the question of personal identity: Who am I? Why am I here? Where is this road taking me?

2012 saw the beginning of a new cycle of paintings, entitled “Forgotten Flowers.” In these works, I presented stylized figures of women with birds or fish as additional symbols. Furthermore, the planes also contain ornamental patterns and flowers. These are symbols of everything which has been unjustly forgotten. It is my tribute to a woman as the primordial point of origin of all that is of any value.

2016 marks the initiation of a new phase in my work. By completely ignoring the outside world and focusing on purely abstract color exercises, the paintings have been freed from any commentary on the current, or past, events. They are contemplative to the point of religiosity. Bearing a unique title of “Listening to Silence,” they help me to find the meaning of existence. Although, that is also a kind of rebellion, is it not?