A brush with... Charline von Heyl
Resumo
TLDRIn this episode of 'A Brush With,' host Ben Luke interviews artist Charlene Von Hil, known for her original and complex paintings that defy traditional categorization. Charlene discusses her artistic influences, including her experiences in Germany during the 1980s and 1990s, and how they shaped her approach to painting. She emphasizes the importance of emotional engagement in her work, the interplay of various artistic styles, and her fascination with the act of painting itself. Charlene shares insights into her creative process, the significance of solitude, and how she navigates the balance between choice and chance in her art. The conversation also touches on the role of titles, the influence of historical artists, and the relationship between art and creativity, highlighting Charlene's belief that art should inspire and trigger creativity in the audience.
Conclusรตes
- ๐จ Charlene Von Hil's art defies traditional definitions.
- ๐๏ธ Her paintings aim for emotional and intellectual engagement.
- ๐ Influenced by her experiences in Germany and beyond.
- ๐งโโ๏ธ Solitude is essential for her creative process.
- ๐ She balances choice and chance in her work.
- ๐ Titles reflect her thoughts and emotional context.
- ๐งช Experimentation is key to her artistic expression.
- ๐ผ๏ธ Historical artists influence her, but she maintains a unique style.
- ๐ก Art should trigger creativity in the audience.
- ๐ Charlene believes in the transformative power of art.
Linha do tempo
- 00:00:00 - 00:05:00
The podcast 'A Brush With' is introduced, sponsored by Bloomberg Connects, an app that connects users to cultural institutions worldwide. Host Ben Luke welcomes artist Charlene Von Hil, known for her unique and complex painting style that defies traditional categorization.
- 00:05:00 - 00:10:00
Charlene Von Hil's art is described as emotionally and intellectually engaging, with layers of forms and a mix of styles. Her work resists a signature style, revealing more depth the longer one observes it. She is part of a group of contemporary artists exploring new possibilities in painting.
- 00:10:00 - 00:15:00
Born in Germany in 1960, Charlene's early career was shaped by a vibrant art scene in the 1980s. She studied painting in Hamburg and later in Dorf, where she developed her practice amidst debates about the role of painting. Her work reflects a fascination with paint and the act of painting itself.
- 00:15:00 - 00:20:00
Charlene's paintings often feature recognizable shapes alongside abstract forms, with a focus on color relationships and texture. She avoids seriality, instead exploring contrasting forms and techniques, which keeps her work fresh and engaging.
- 00:20:00 - 00:25:00
In the mid-2000s, Charlene began incorporating hard-edged graphic elements into her work, creating dynamic compositions that challenge traditional narratives. Her approach involves a balance of choice and chance, allowing the painting to dictate its direction.
- 00:25:00 - 00:30:00
Charlene discusses her creative process, emphasizing the importance of solitude in the studio. She often spends time visualizing and contemplating before physically painting, allowing intuition to guide her decisions.
- 00:30:00 - 00:35:00
The artist explains her use of rules in her practice, which can lead to moments of wild creativity. She often starts with fast collages to stimulate her visual thinking before transitioning to painting, blending speed with meticulousness.
- 00:35:00 - 00:40:00
Charlene reflects on the moment she becomes the audience for her work, noting that declaring a painting finished can take time. She describes the satisfaction of revisiting older works and finding new ways to bring them to life.
- 00:40:00 - 00:45:00
The conversation touches on the influence of historical artists and the importance of personal memory in Charlene's work. She acknowledges the impact of various cultural experiences and the role of solitude in her artistic development.
- 00:45:00 - 00:50:00
Charlene shares her admiration for contemporary artists and the importance of community in her practice. She values the exchange of ideas and inspiration among her peers, which fuels her creativity.
- 00:50:00 - 00:58:01
The podcast concludes with a discussion on the nature of art and its role in triggering creativity in both the artist and the audience, emphasizing the necessity of art in human expression.
Mapa mental
Vรญdeo de perguntas e respostas
What is the main theme of the episode?
The episode explores Charlene Von Hil's unique approach to painting and her artistic influences.
Who is the guest artist in this episode?
The guest artist is Charlene Von Hil.
What does Charlene Von Hil say about her painting style?
Charlene's painting style defies traditional definitions, aiming for emotional and intellectual engagement.
What influences Charlene's work?
Charlene is influenced by various artists, cultural experiences, and her childhood memories.
How does Charlene describe her creative process?
She describes her process as a balance between solitude, experimentation, and the interplay of choice and chance.
What role does solitude play in Charlene's work?
Solitude is essential for her creative process, allowing her to explore her thoughts and ideas without distractions.
What is the significance of titles in Charlene's paintings?
Titles often reflect her thoughts and the emotional context of the work, sometimes referencing literature or personal experiences.
How does Charlene view the relationship between art and creativity?
She believes art should trigger creativity in the audience, fostering a loop of inspiration and expression.
What is the importance of experimentation in Charlene's practice?
Experimentation allows her to discover new possibilities and push the boundaries of her artistic expression.
What does Charlene say about the influence of historical artists on her work?
She acknowledges the impact of historical artists but emphasizes her unique interpretation and personal style.
Ver mais resumos de vรญdeos
Cara Membuat RPP PAUD KURIKULUM MERDEKA
how to *ACTUALLY* become an influencer in 2025: guide to posting, algorithm hacks, content tips 101
Why F1's trying to ditch a core part of its 2026 rules
Why Gen Z Students Are Falling Behind in Reading, Writing, and Critical Thinking in College
Masterclass On Hydroponics Aeroponics DWC Kratky Nutrients EC PH Maintenance Algae and Root rot
What College Majors Are Worth the Money?
- 00:00:00[Music]
- 00:00:02a brush with is sponsored by Bloomberg
- 00:00:04connects the arts and culture app
- 00:00:06created by Bloomberg philanthropies
- 00:00:08Bloomberg connects lets you access
- 00:00:09museums Galleries and cultural spaces
- 00:00:12around the world on demand download the
- 00:00:14app to access digital guides and explore
- 00:00:17a variety of
- 00:00:23[Music]
- 00:00:24content hello I'm Ben Luke and welcome
- 00:00:26to a brush with the podcast from the art
- 00:00:28newspaper in which I'm talk to artists
- 00:00:30about their influences from writers to
- 00:00:32musicians filmmakers and of course other
- 00:00:34artists and the cultural experiences
- 00:00:36that have shaped their lives and work
- 00:00:39and in this episode it's a brush with
- 00:00:40Charlene Von Hil one of the most
- 00:00:42original painters working today her art
- 00:00:45deliberately defies description evading
- 00:00:47Orthodox definitions like abstract or
- 00:00:49figurative by attempting to reach a
- 00:00:51space in which the viewer is emotionally
- 00:00:53and intellectually engaged to the extent
- 00:00:55that such terms are meaningless a place
- 00:00:57she has said where thoughts and feelings
- 00:00:59meet her canvases are complex with
- 00:01:01multiple layers of forms applied with
- 00:01:03apparently contradictory languages from
- 00:01:05intricately applied patterns and hard
- 00:01:07edges to free flowing painterly passages
- 00:01:10the images she paints are similarly
- 00:01:11disperate with identifiable shapes
- 00:01:13alongside more loose lyrical in coert
- 00:01:16forms and while some patterns motifs
- 00:01:18techniques color relationships and
- 00:01:20structures might repeat particularly
- 00:01:22among discrete clusters of paintings
- 00:01:24Charlene resists having a signature
- 00:01:26style she keeps herself and us as
- 00:01:28viewers guessing her paint paintings are
- 00:01:30the opposite of one liners instead
- 00:01:32revealing more the longer they're
- 00:01:33absorbed while she's entirely individual
- 00:01:36in her language Charlene is one of a
- 00:01:38number of artists internationally who
- 00:01:39are testing the possibilities of
- 00:01:41painting in the 21st century Charlene
- 00:01:44was born in 1960 in the German City
- 00:01:47mines she lives today between New York
- 00:01:49and Marfa in Texas from where she joined
- 00:01:51me for this conversation she studied
- 00:01:53painting first at the Haw Schuler for
- 00:01:55build and de kiner in Hamburg and then
- 00:01:57at the kst Academy in Dorf as we'll hear
- 00:02:00these early years of her career in the
- 00:02:021980s began against the backdrop of a
- 00:02:04tumultuous debate in Germany about the
- 00:02:06discipline of painting with starkly
- 00:02:08different factions from heroic Neo
- 00:02:10expressionists like gaor baslet and anel
- 00:02:12kefir to Maverick figures taking a more
- 00:02:15ironic approach to the medium and the
- 00:02:16role of the artist like Martin
- 00:02:18kienberger as Charlene has said she
- 00:02:20started out as a painter in an
- 00:02:22environment where painting was something
- 00:02:24powerful and has never lost that feeling
- 00:02:26the work she made in dorf in the early
- 00:02:281990s established many of the conditions
- 00:02:30that apply to her practi day seemingly
- 00:02:33any form and means of application are up
- 00:02:35for grabs and while they're questioning
- 00:02:37and irreverent they also evidence a
- 00:02:39profound Fascination and I would argue
- 00:02:41even a passion for paint and the act of
- 00:02:43painting at the center of an Untitled
- 00:02:45painting from 1995 for instance is the
- 00:02:48rear end of a horse but it's set within
- 00:02:50a composition that's far from
- 00:02:51conventional narrative painting a Morin
- 00:02:54to the fragmentation of collage shapes
- 00:02:56suggest recognizable things the blade of
- 00:02:58a knife perhaps or hints of heads and
- 00:03:00bodies even a much larger horses who
- 00:03:02rendered entirely differently from those
- 00:03:04at the heart of the canvas elsewhere
- 00:03:06there are nods to decorative pattern and
- 00:03:07shape the structures of an interior
- 00:03:09space perhaps and even what looks to me
- 00:03:11like a btic spider meanwhile the
- 00:03:14painterly gestures vary from Flat
- 00:03:15Plaines of color most prominently in an
- 00:03:17arc of yellow to repetitive hatching and
- 00:03:20drips evocative of abstract
- 00:03:22expressionism Charlene moved to New York
- 00:03:24from Germany in the mid 1990s and over
- 00:03:26the years whilst toning and expanding
- 00:03:29her practice she's maintained the
- 00:03:30plurality and curiosity of those early
- 00:03:32years the paintings of the late 1990s
- 00:03:35became more abstract while never quite
- 00:03:36shaking off suggestions of recognizable
- 00:03:39shape by 2000 she had begun introducing
- 00:03:41playful and evocative titles that hinted
- 00:03:43at the thoughts that underpinned her
- 00:03:45work but also confirmed a guiding poetic
- 00:03:47sensibility a love of elusive and
- 00:03:49Elusive language unlike a lot of artists
- 00:03:52engaged with abstraction Charlene avoids
- 00:03:54seriality and though some pieces possess
- 00:03:57shared elements different paintings
- 00:03:58appear preoccupied with entirely
- 00:04:00contrasting forms of Mark making color
- 00:04:02harmonies and texture looking at her
- 00:04:04pictures I have flashes of recognition
- 00:04:06of historic and modern painting as she
- 00:04:08engages consciously and unconsciously
- 00:04:11with the long trajectory of her medium
- 00:04:13she's called paintings time tunnels and
- 00:04:15has pondered the strange and beautiful
- 00:04:16fact of their survival across centuries
- 00:04:19from the mid 2000s hard-edged graphic
- 00:04:22elements have increasingly featured in
- 00:04:23her work she enjoys the Collision of
- 00:04:25starles and methods always finding novel
- 00:04:27ways to choreograph them across the
- 00:04:29canvas in pink Vendetta from 2009 the
- 00:04:32central form is like a cartoon explosion
- 00:04:34defined at least it appears by painting
- 00:04:37opaque white over a loose pink abstract
- 00:04:39field flushed stains are overlaid in red
- 00:04:42with broken lines and clusters of marks
- 00:04:43that appear to have been made by
- 00:04:45dragging paint Laden fingers across the
- 00:04:47surface but then over them there are
- 00:04:49geometric curves and circles and a run
- 00:04:51of triangles that suggests the tooth
- 00:04:53edge of a cog or a wheel the composition
- 00:04:55at once bursts forward and Retreats
- 00:04:58Charlene is a supreme inv Center of
- 00:05:00complex spatial Dynamics in the last
- 00:05:02decade that's been particularly evident
- 00:05:04in her use of what appear to be collaged
- 00:05:06elements yet are in fact painted shapes
- 00:05:08that were initially stuck to the canvas
- 00:05:10but subsequently executed in paint to
- 00:05:12look like collage as we'll hear as an
- 00:05:14intentional strategy charene will set
- 00:05:16about the painstaking rendering of these
- 00:05:17forms and repetitive patterns as a means
- 00:05:19of building up to moments where she can
- 00:05:21unleash what she's called wild energy
- 00:05:23for Bolder moves the template forms
- 00:05:25which she called stickers can vary from
- 00:05:27five-pointed stars to human heads and
- 00:05:29profiles stylized flam likee forms
- 00:05:32bottles and bowling pins with every use
- 00:05:34they're reinvented as if Charlene is
- 00:05:36pushing herself always to see them a new
- 00:05:39but also engaging in a kind of
- 00:05:40automatism where the painting dictates
- 00:05:43where it will lead and it's this with
- 00:05:44which I began our conversation Charlene
- 00:05:47has said that she wants her paintings to
- 00:05:48invent themselves but also to keep
- 00:05:50surprising her so I asked her how does
- 00:05:53she create the conditions for this to
- 00:05:54happen
- 00:05:57[Music]
- 00:06:01what I think a painting should do it
- 00:06:03should trigger something creative in the
- 00:06:07person looking at it it should not be a
- 00:06:10fact that is all sealed in itself it
- 00:06:14should actually be something that is
- 00:06:16open and have different ways of being
- 00:06:19seen that means that a painting is
- 00:06:22something that I want to trigger things
- 00:06:25in me that I didn't know before you like
- 00:06:27that several options in the painting
- 00:06:29that it's not an idea that I have that
- 00:06:32will be Illustrated but that it actually
- 00:06:35does to me what I wanted to do to other
- 00:06:38people that I'm the first audience so it
- 00:06:41needs to surprise me and to even have
- 00:06:44you like this weird in between of a
- 00:06:47certain uncomfortable alienation and
- 00:06:51sparking curiosity in me where I'm sure
- 00:06:54you have heard that before from artists
- 00:06:57especially painters that there is a
- 00:06:59point offer painting and I think that's
- 00:07:01the most interesting one and that's
- 00:07:02where I want to get to where the
- 00:07:04painting Works despite itself you like
- 00:07:08that you look at a painting and you
- 00:07:09think this cannot possibly work as a
- 00:07:12painting you like there are so many
- 00:07:14elements in there that are contradictory
- 00:07:16or they're just not jelling as a natural
- 00:07:20choice or whatever might be colors might
- 00:07:22be lines might be Vibes might be moods
- 00:07:26but it does work and I think that's
- 00:07:28actually also The Works that we as
- 00:07:31artists look at is trying to find those
- 00:07:34Works you're like what is it that makes
- 00:07:36it so I want to make those paintings and
- 00:07:39I can imagine that getting there is
- 00:07:41difficult to manufacture in a sense that
- 00:07:43the whole process of painting there is
- 00:07:46this kind of fraught balance I like the
- 00:07:48fact that you talk about choice and
- 00:07:50chance and this balance between those
- 00:07:52two factors in the work yeah that's why
- 00:07:55I need to be alone in the studio you
- 00:07:57like my practice really involves itude
- 00:08:00very much and it might look as if I'm
- 00:08:03just lounging but the reality is that
- 00:08:06I'm carrying that your like visual
- 00:08:08computer around my head and I'm just
- 00:08:12shooting through gazillions of
- 00:08:14possibilities before I get up and do
- 00:08:17exactly the thing that I thought I I
- 00:08:19wouldn't do and it's weird because it's
- 00:08:22really using the head to fool the
- 00:08:25intuition into acting up you're like
- 00:08:28it's it's something very interesting
- 00:08:30because it's not in the end what I came
- 00:08:32up with by thought that is going to
- 00:08:35happen it is something that just the
- 00:08:37mere sitting there and looking and
- 00:08:40imagining brought up from somewhere else
- 00:08:43and can there be days when you'll go to
- 00:08:45the studio and will not paint but you'll
- 00:08:47sit there painting in your head if you
- 00:08:49like so in other words you're working
- 00:08:52but you're not necessarily picking up a
- 00:08:53brush and applying paint to a
- 00:08:56surface yeah that's basically all the
- 00:08:58time I mean I mean it's just I'm
- 00:09:01probably like 5 hours or so not much
- 00:09:03longer actually my attention span is not
- 00:09:05the greatest in the studio and of that
- 00:09:08time the actual painting time will be
- 00:09:11maybe 1 hour or so so most of the time
- 00:09:14is really looking and it's not just
- 00:09:17making a painting in my head it really
- 00:09:18is also literally looking at images you
- 00:09:21know like opening the computer and just
- 00:09:23going through really weird old blogs or
- 00:09:26there are fantastic painters Tumblr
- 00:09:29accounts which I love because it's not
- 00:09:31about personality it's just really about
- 00:09:33finding idiosyncratic choices and so I
- 00:09:36just get stimulated by that and then I
- 00:09:39will see this one weird little orange
- 00:09:42Corner that triggers desire in me and
- 00:09:44then I want to have something similar it
- 00:09:46doesn't have to be that orange corner
- 00:09:48but it has to be something that renders
- 00:09:51me excited in the same way that that did
- 00:09:53you're like and it might be a
- 00:09:54conventional move or it might be
- 00:09:55something bizarre doesn't matter but the
- 00:09:58time in the studio is really a time of
- 00:10:00visual manufacturing and I also know
- 00:10:03that you set yourself rules at times and
- 00:10:05these can be quite painstaking to follow
- 00:10:07through but they perform all sorts of
- 00:10:10functions right in the sense that yes
- 00:10:11there's a formal function in terms of
- 00:10:13the painting right but also I love this
- 00:10:16idea that you said that because of the
- 00:10:17tedium sometimes in following rules that
- 00:10:20can then prompt a sort of wild period
- 00:10:22that actually gives you access to a
- 00:10:24different kind of making which actually
- 00:10:26completes the work or or pushes it into
- 00:10:28a new Direction yes and I actually love
- 00:10:30doing that my work has always been about
- 00:10:32those two different speeds the
- 00:10:34meditative speed of uh either you like
- 00:10:37filling out a pattern that might be a
- 00:10:40background that I might completely
- 00:10:41overpaint I mean the things that I
- 00:10:43usually start a body of work with before
- 00:10:45I even get to painting is uh works on
- 00:10:48paper and that very often involves
- 00:10:51scissors it's often collage because
- 00:10:54collage is the fastest way that you can
- 00:10:55visually think you like it's just and
- 00:10:58it's also the most extreme way because
- 00:11:00it allows you to check out how much the
- 00:11:05eye can take and so for me it is a way
- 00:11:07to crank up the old eye motor to make
- 00:11:11really fast collages and be getting uh
- 00:11:13geared up for that visual extreme so to
- 00:11:18speak and uh it is something that I at
- 00:11:20some point in the last year started to
- 00:11:23do with painting as well that I would
- 00:11:24make very fast paintings on paper and
- 00:11:27cut them out so that they're totally
- 00:11:29random pieces and then you like go with
- 00:11:33those pieces into the painting and stick
- 00:11:35them on with tape there's always this
- 00:11:37moment where a piece like that gets
- 00:11:39sucked into the painting and like in the
- 00:11:42way that in the computer you're like the
- 00:11:44image suddenly merges with the rest and
- 00:11:47then I stick it there and
- 00:11:50painstakingly copy it into the painting
- 00:11:52afterwards so you have those two
- 00:11:54elements of total speed and total
- 00:11:57intuition with actually also an idea of
- 00:12:00Mastery because then I get really nerdy
- 00:12:02and want it to look exactly like that
- 00:12:04piece of paper even though that was like
- 00:12:06a slobbery weird kind of junky two
- 00:12:10seconds move so it's almost like
- 00:12:12trumploy it's almost a visual trick yes
- 00:12:15it is it totally is a visual trick I
- 00:12:18think that at some point anything very
- 00:12:21visual has to be also tricky but you
- 00:12:24also resist virtuoso Behavior so on the
- 00:12:27one hand there's great moments of skill
- 00:12:29as you say in that copying of a colage
- 00:12:31that's a skillful act right but I
- 00:12:33suppose the trick is there is to resist
- 00:12:36the appearance of overt skill or kind of
- 00:12:39showing off in a way yeah to hide it
- 00:12:42yeah but then in the end it's not hidden
- 00:12:45because in the end you have a painting
- 00:12:47that nobody else could copy basically
- 00:12:50actually you're like I could copy it
- 00:12:53right you have an entity of a painting
- 00:12:55that is its own world and it's not about
- 00:12:58that anymore it's not about the trickery
- 00:12:59it's not about the uh proving a point in
- 00:13:03one way or the other it really is about
- 00:13:05the image and what it adds to the world
- 00:13:07and how somebody will make it their own
- 00:13:11when they stand in front of it yeah how
- 00:13:13it is going to put oxygen in their brain
- 00:13:16and can you always pinpoint the moment
- 00:13:18where you become the audience rather
- 00:13:20than the maker for the work is there
- 00:13:22always an end point which is very
- 00:13:24recognizable yes and it is very
- 00:13:26recognizable even in so far that I might
- 00:13:29have made this decision to not touch a
- 00:13:31painting anymore but then there will be
- 00:13:33months before I declare it actually done
- 00:13:36and in that month at the end there might
- 00:13:39actually be something happening more
- 00:13:42often than what it actually is there are
- 00:13:44also moments where I finish a painting
- 00:13:46and it's just their bang and uh even
- 00:13:49faster than I could say finished it's
- 00:13:51finished but that's not a rules it
- 00:13:54really takes as much work to declare a
- 00:13:57painting finished as to finish it but I
- 00:14:01was really intrigued to read that there
- 00:14:02can be paintings which you've set aside
- 00:14:04for a number of years even but they can
- 00:14:07kind of be redeemed or brought into the
- 00:14:09present by a single Motif yes so I think
- 00:14:11it was with the Poetry machine paintings
- 00:14:13you had three very disperate paintings
- 00:14:15which because you had a particular Motif
- 00:14:17you wanted to use you could change them
- 00:14:18and then they would gain a new sort of
- 00:14:20impetus yes and that's very satisfying
- 00:14:24you're like it's it's almost like I have
- 00:14:26those zombies those bodies laying in the
- 00:14:29studio and and know that they're there
- 00:14:31and they actually they have a certain
- 00:14:32weight you like they they are an
- 00:14:34annoying presence and uh so I hide them
- 00:14:38away in the studio storage but I know
- 00:14:41that they are there because they're
- 00:14:42clumping up the studio and it is
- 00:14:45actually in moments when I have finished
- 00:14:47a body of works or when I start a new
- 00:14:49body of works I look at them again and
- 00:14:51it's true over years I can look at them
- 00:14:53again and again and think no this is
- 00:14:55just sucking energy out of me right now
- 00:14:57I will not be able to de deal with it
- 00:14:59and then there will be the one moment
- 00:15:01where I'm really understanding the move
- 00:15:04and it wants to happen and there it is
- 00:15:06and that's very very satisfying to
- 00:15:08suddenly have it be completely alive and
- 00:15:12unpredicted yeah it must be a fantastic
- 00:15:14feeling the beginning of each painting I
- 00:15:16know that you don't have a a very clear
- 00:15:18plan but is it right that line is always
- 00:15:21the way you begin with a line even
- 00:15:23though of course other factors become
- 00:15:26prominent in the work line is the
- 00:15:28beginning a drawing if you like is the
- 00:15:29beginning well actually it's sometimes
- 00:15:32also just a color or a mood it's almost
- 00:15:36as if I'm tuning myself into a certain
- 00:15:39Vibe before I even start with the color
- 00:15:41or line for example I will have this
- 00:15:44feeling that I want to have a painting
- 00:15:47that really has a heart of tenderness so
- 00:15:50I will have a different way of holding
- 00:15:52the brush or you like the charcoal
- 00:15:55drawing will be very slow lines where
- 00:15:57this tenderness kind of suffuses the
- 00:16:00image and it will be a beginning and it
- 00:16:03might be not there at the end but I
- 00:16:05think it starts a desire for something
- 00:16:08to happen that gives me something back
- 00:16:10that I need at that time or it might be
- 00:16:13something about Freedom you're like
- 00:16:14where I'm just celebrate the gesture as
- 00:16:17such you know and and put that down as
- 00:16:20an energy and then you like the painting
- 00:16:23comes out of an energy and not out of
- 00:16:26meditation and that's a completely
- 00:16:28different painting yeah it has something
- 00:16:30to do with who I am in the studio at
- 00:16:32that point it has something to do with
- 00:16:35all the synchronicities that lead to it
- 00:16:37the way that the stuff that I've been
- 00:16:38reading the way the work that I have
- 00:16:41been looking at the way the world has
- 00:16:44treated me in that moment but it's just
- 00:16:46a start in the end the painting might
- 00:16:49have nothing to do with that anymore
- 00:16:51there's a really lovely phrase that I
- 00:16:52read actually that you used about some
- 00:16:54of the sort of strategies that you use I
- 00:16:57think it's hacken schlagen
- 00:16:59Haren schlag yes yeah basically when
- 00:17:02prey changes Direction so when a rabbit
- 00:17:04changes Direction yeah when a rabbit is
- 00:17:06running and rabbits are famous for that
- 00:17:08that they suddenly change direction
- 00:17:11completely John corett came up with that
- 00:17:13image and I thought it was perfect and
- 00:17:16that is I think one of my underlying
- 00:17:18character traits is impatience I have
- 00:17:22this attention span that only goes that
- 00:17:24far so I think I have made myself into
- 00:17:28an AR who uses that rather than bemon it
- 00:17:32and that's where the change of Direction
- 00:17:34comes in if something doesn't seem to
- 00:17:36work even if I have just spent three
- 00:17:38hours on it I'm going to sacrifice it
- 00:17:40immediately for another turn just
- 00:17:43because this is the thing that will keep
- 00:17:45the painting going no matter what so to
- 00:17:47speak and it implies a certain urgency
- 00:17:50of course if a painting becomes sluggish
- 00:17:52in some way that by changing direction
- 00:17:54in that way exactly you immediately
- 00:17:56inject a certain urgency I mean there so
- 00:17:59many things that I love in paintings and
- 00:18:01that are important to me I'm a total
- 00:18:03sucker for composition for example and I
- 00:18:06like to go over the top with it and then
- 00:18:09it's super satisfying but then there
- 00:18:10might be the point where that really
- 00:18:12goes on my nerves and then I'm going to
- 00:18:14paint let's say half of that composition
- 00:18:16I overpainted completely white so I I'm
- 00:18:18there with a senseless half of
- 00:18:21completely crazy composition that of
- 00:18:23course becomes an object at that moment
- 00:18:26and then I deal with that as a collage
- 00:18:29part of an image that might be there
- 00:18:31later and so it is hug and schlag and it
- 00:18:34seems to me that a lot of the most
- 00:18:35exciting parts of your paintings are in
- 00:18:38the moments where you have hidden
- 00:18:40passages like I'll be looking at a work
- 00:18:42and I'll see using exactly that strategy
- 00:18:43that you've used as in covering a whole
- 00:18:45section with a particular color with
- 00:18:47white or whatever it seems to me there's
- 00:18:48a hell of a lot that goes on beneath the
- 00:18:50surface and you kind of Honor that yes
- 00:18:52you don't hide it entirely it's a key
- 00:18:54almost like a hum beneath the painting
- 00:18:56if you like yes in most paint things
- 00:18:59that probably is the case things that
- 00:19:01are faint are as important as things
- 00:19:03that are in your face but because I
- 00:19:06don't have a space of Illusion or
- 00:19:08illusional space in the painting it is
- 00:19:10more about traces the shapes are all on
- 00:19:14the surface and the faint ones are
- 00:19:16traces that are as much on the surface
- 00:19:19as the other ones and they play a part
- 00:19:21yes I wanted to just pick up on
- 00:19:24something which you said which I really
- 00:19:25loved because it connects painting with
- 00:19:28a kind of more casual discipline but it
- 00:19:29seems important to me you said that you
- 00:19:31used oil over acrylic like you might use
- 00:19:34creme fresh in a stew
- 00:19:36and and and I thought that was really
- 00:19:38interesting because apart from anything
- 00:19:40else some of the time I imagine one of
- 00:19:42the things that you have to do as an
- 00:19:43artist is to try not to be too precious
- 00:19:46and to therefore make it more like
- 00:19:48cooking than it is like making a very
- 00:19:49important
- 00:19:52artwork absolutely yeah that's really
- 00:19:55funny and now that I'm getting older I
- 00:19:58realized that the real Mastery is to use
- 00:20:00acrylic over oil to actually manipulate
- 00:20:03the mistakes where you know it's going
- 00:20:05to fall off but you also know exactly
- 00:20:08how it is going to fall off and to
- 00:20:11actually play with those things but of
- 00:20:13course those are recipes I mean uh
- 00:20:15painting is there's nothing mysterious
- 00:20:17about it it's just materials acting in
- 00:20:19certain ways and especially my
- 00:20:21generation who grew up without being
- 00:20:24taught how to paint just also grew up
- 00:20:27experimenting like crazy because we had
- 00:20:29to find out ourselves what things do and
- 00:20:32how they act and it was a lot of trial
- 00:20:34and error and this trial and error is
- 00:20:37now actually part of the energy and we
- 00:20:40are still using it not as trial and
- 00:20:43error but as Witnesses of the times of
- 00:20:46trial and error and of quotations of
- 00:20:48trial and error
- 00:20:52[Music]
- 00:21:05so let's move on to the questions that
- 00:21:06we ask all our guests who was the first
- 00:21:08artist whose work you loved as a child I
- 00:21:11was so installed by images that I cannot
- 00:21:15pinpoint where the exact moment is where
- 00:21:18it turned into art or painting like
- 00:21:21there are some lines that are tattooed
- 00:21:23in my brain from very early childhood
- 00:21:26memories of seeing images that triggered
- 00:21:29desire I know that the first artist that
- 00:21:31I was conscious as a painter that
- 00:21:34triggered that same feeling was vs the
- 00:21:37blue Phantom in the museum Ludwick in
- 00:21:41Cologne and I actually had a small show
- 00:21:43in the Rose Museum charene fil and vs
- 00:21:46where that very painting was the
- 00:21:48centerpiece they landed which is kind of
- 00:21:50insane yeah tell me how that felt
- 00:21:52because I know you were very young when
- 00:21:54you saw that painting weren you when we
- 00:21:55first encountered it and were so struck
- 00:21:57by it yes it was like the Sunday family
- 00:21:59outing Museum it felt like all the
- 00:22:02images have felt it started a
- 00:22:04cannibalistic urge you like this kind of
- 00:22:07feeling of I wanted to have it be it be
- 00:22:09in it absorb it and strangely enough it
- 00:22:13was never the feeling of I want to make
- 00:22:15it it was really this I want to own it I
- 00:22:19want to be it and I I still have that
- 00:22:21with images that do something to me that
- 00:22:24it triggers this feeling in my body that
- 00:22:26I want to to be close to it to to eat it
- 00:22:29I don't know it's
- 00:22:31weird that's really wonderful to
- 00:22:34properly absorb it yeah I also wanted to
- 00:22:36pick up here on fairy tales and you
- 00:22:38mentioned that illustrations and things
- 00:22:39are important to you as a child and I
- 00:22:41know that there's a work where you use a
- 00:22:43kind of dictionary phonetic title which
- 00:22:45is called Val in Zam from 2016 that was
- 00:22:49inspired by a fairy tale right and I I
- 00:22:51believe that was a big part of your
- 00:22:53childhood yes I I really had a good
- 00:22:56childhood with a younger brother are
- 00:22:58just young enough that we were partners
- 00:23:01in crime and a big garden and a house
- 00:23:04close to the woods and from the
- 00:23:06beginning of a lot of books and images
- 00:23:09so I think that space of imagination
- 00:23:13that you create in such a played out
- 00:23:16literally played out childhood we had
- 00:23:18this key word do the were this would be
- 00:23:22where you designate every object to be
- 00:23:24something else and that's what children
- 00:23:26do I guess and I think that
- 00:23:29has been important in the making of me
- 00:23:31somehow but I'm not
- 00:23:33sure effectively you're talking about a
- 00:23:35kind of transformative urge yes and
- 00:23:37that's right at the heart of painting
- 00:23:39isn't it yes absolutely that's true I
- 00:23:41didn't need an imaginary friend because
- 00:23:43I had that and then I always had great
- 00:23:45play friends friends that I could roam
- 00:23:47the woods with and we did in the
- 00:23:49summertime we would go out there and we
- 00:23:51had to be back for dinner but we would
- 00:23:53just really literally have a lot of work
- 00:23:55to do rearranging the rivlets and and
- 00:23:59building dams and tree houses and I
- 00:24:01don't know it was
- 00:24:03just it was really great it sounds
- 00:24:06idilic which historical artist do you
- 00:24:08turn to the most today it's
- 00:24:10transactional if I start with a line I
- 00:24:12will be looking at the artists that are
- 00:24:14really important to me in what they have
- 00:24:16been doing with lines like Picasso or B
- 00:24:19buffet or or if it's composition it's
- 00:24:21going to be Lu poova or Toretto or
- 00:24:25something that I come back to all the
- 00:24:27time strangely enough is L and that has
- 00:24:30to do also with this thing that we were
- 00:24:32talking about before this idea of why
- 00:24:35does a painting work what makes a
- 00:24:37painting work and where is that painting
- 00:24:39that shouldn't work but does work but
- 00:24:42I'm also interested in the opposite
- 00:24:44which is why is there a painting that
- 00:24:47should work but doesn't work and there
- 00:24:49are some other artists like that where
- 00:24:51you think why doesn't it work it's those
- 00:24:54insane compositions it's really the line
- 00:24:57is so perfect
- 00:24:58there is a great strange humor in them
- 00:25:01and I'm really thinking about it the
- 00:25:02whole world seems to agree that this is
- 00:25:04not art in the way Picasso is Art even
- 00:25:07though it is just line and color and
- 00:25:09composition and I find that interesting
- 00:25:12and in a certain way I almost want to
- 00:25:13get to those paintings that should work
- 00:25:16but don't so it's complicated and then
- 00:25:20there's also the fact that Kier his
- 00:25:23cousin was Louis Sutter who's almost
- 00:25:26like a shadow image of him he's a
- 00:25:28so-called Outsider artist who has been
- 00:25:31making his paintings in an institution
- 00:25:34in Switzerland and we wouldn't even know
- 00:25:36about him if L Kier himself wouldn't
- 00:25:39have seen what that artist is about and
- 00:25:42he is the one who kind of introduced it
- 00:25:44to the world and I happen to really love
- 00:25:47Louis suter's work and have actually
- 00:25:49also referenced it in my work before so
- 00:25:51this the to me between those two artists
- 00:25:54there is something that really I find
- 00:25:57over and over again
- 00:25:58stimulating so and also ker paintings
- 00:26:01are just so unbelievably funny and he
- 00:26:03made tons of them so just for you're
- 00:26:06like getting the joy in my head I I just
- 00:26:08go there are websites that are dedicated
- 00:26:10to his work and and you actually don't
- 00:26:12find books much I got a catalog Ron and
- 00:26:15it's treasured but it's very hard to get
- 00:26:18yeah it's interesting I mean it's not
- 00:26:19quite the same but I think it's similar
- 00:26:21in a sense because you mentioned Picasso
- 00:26:23was I know that you're a big fan of Juan
- 00:26:25Greece and amongst high-minded IST
- 00:26:28people juang is a lesser artist than
- 00:26:31Picasso and BR because his work isn't as
- 00:26:33difficult or whatever because it's
- 00:26:34somehow decorative or whatever but I
- 00:26:35know that you like that fact that
- 00:26:37there's something in his compositions in
- 00:26:39that ease that you find in Greece that
- 00:26:41is really super powerful yes and I find
- 00:26:44it also if you think about Picasso's
- 00:26:46work Picasso's work is not difficult in
- 00:26:48the end he is really an artist who
- 00:26:51depends on the drawing and then he
- 00:26:53colors it in and he does it in such an
- 00:26:56anarchistic and free ways that he has so
- 00:26:59many good moves and they're so funny and
- 00:27:03there that it's really easy to be
- 00:27:05seduced by him and especially the
- 00:27:07analytic cubism of the later Huang gri
- 00:27:11where he introduces those pop colors are
- 00:27:14extremely sophisticated in a way that
- 00:27:16actually Picasso never would give
- 00:27:18himself the time to do and maybe that is
- 00:27:21the point that people are just so in
- 00:27:24love with this idea of the genius
- 00:27:26gesture that they cannot move that to
- 00:27:30the idea of a genius composition or a
- 00:27:33genius concept because in the end K and
- 00:27:37are more conceptual paintings than
- 00:27:39gestural paintings one of the things I
- 00:27:41pick up on in your painting is that you
- 00:27:43can see or detect certain references you
- 00:27:46see hints of deiro or you see hints of
- 00:27:48other artists but there are very few
- 00:27:50clear absolute sort of pinpointed
- 00:27:52references if you like there's no direct
- 00:27:54quotations or very rare ones I guess the
- 00:27:56closest you get to a direct quotation is
- 00:27:58by using the numbers from Melancholia by
- 00:28:01dur in your painting of the same title
- 00:28:03but generally you avoid quotation would
- 00:28:05that be fair it's not even that I avoid
- 00:28:07it it's just that because I really
- 00:28:10literally have no memory when I'm in
- 00:28:12front of the canvas it doesn't come up
- 00:28:15it's just not a conscious choice that I
- 00:28:17could do of course I am completely
- 00:28:20utterly contaminated with quotations so
- 00:28:24they will pop up from the underbelly and
- 00:28:27I will recog recognize them later and
- 00:28:29then I will leave them or not but I
- 00:28:31think yeah that is actually the right
- 00:28:33word some paintings I leave to be
- 00:28:35contaminated by the vibe of another
- 00:28:37artist and that gives my painting at
- 00:28:40that moment the skeleton it needs or the
- 00:28:43statement it needs or the vibe it needs
- 00:28:46but actually never
- 00:28:48consciously and then of course often in
- 00:28:50the titles you will play with historic
- 00:28:53titles of artworks like I noticed
- 00:28:55there's one work which is called conto
- 00:28:57SP
- 00:28:58so it's using font so I think that's
- 00:29:01really interesting because it's about
- 00:29:02language but it's also about the naming
- 00:29:05and that seems to me to be a really
- 00:29:06productive area for you yes the naming
- 00:29:09comes so much after the fact and it
- 00:29:12really is the last layer I take it very
- 00:29:15serious and it's not easy to do and
- 00:29:18sometimes it is just like moving into
- 00:29:20the same space as another artist as a
- 00:29:23possibility of opening up a painting and
- 00:29:26of course Fontana is one of my absolute
- 00:29:28favorite artists also of that breed of
- 00:29:32artists that I'm most envious about the
- 00:29:35ones that can make clear
- 00:29:38statements and he does it in a really
- 00:29:41funny and interesting way and also
- 00:29:43formally absolutely uh beautiful and
- 00:29:45seductive way so uh he has it all in my
- 00:29:48opinion but it's interesting that you
- 00:29:50don't try and emulate that you say he's
- 00:29:52one of your favorite artists but there's
- 00:29:54no sense in which one would look at your
- 00:29:56work and directly say well of course
- 00:29:59there's Fontana so present in her work
- 00:30:01you know because you admire an artist it
- 00:30:02doesn't mean you have to then try and
- 00:30:04emulate them in any way no that's just
- 00:30:07not how it works that's also why I think
- 00:30:10this idea of influence is always a kind
- 00:30:13of a misunderstanding and a fiction on
- 00:30:16the side of the audience and it's
- 00:30:18actually making the lives of the artist
- 00:30:21more difficult and not more easy because
- 00:30:23the outside critic will be so happy to
- 00:30:27find any clues that might give a key to
- 00:30:32another artist and they always looking
- 00:30:34for a linage but the artists are people
- 00:30:37who are filtering you like there is of
- 00:30:40course influence but is active influence
- 00:30:43where you just filter what you need and
- 00:30:44you uh put it away somewhere where you
- 00:30:47forget it before it comes out again I
- 00:30:49mean there is of course also passive
- 00:30:51influence which is the contamination and
- 00:30:54that's a really funny often disturbing
- 00:30:56almost like really strange thing for
- 00:31:00example I I just found out by looking at
- 00:31:02it it was such a revelation I went to a
- 00:31:05funeral last year in my hometown in the
- 00:31:08old church near the village where I grew
- 00:31:10up which is kind of like a brutalist box
- 00:31:14in that church I I had spent like
- 00:31:17hundreds of Sundays bored out of my
- 00:31:21pants but the one thing about that
- 00:31:24church is that one whole wall of it is
- 00:31:26one big window and it is one big image
- 00:31:30and the image is the burning bush the
- 00:31:33burning thorn bush and I realized that
- 00:31:36for example there is a painting of mine
- 00:31:38called The Burning lemon and suddenly
- 00:31:40the title also makes real sense that's
- 00:31:43in the brost collection which is
- 00:31:45basically the same image those Flames
- 00:31:48that shape that I always thought that I
- 00:31:50had chosen because it's a perfect shape
- 00:31:53that has the curlycue of the wrist and
- 00:31:55the arm and it's loaded as a shape it
- 00:31:58has content but it's also just a Barack
- 00:32:01sort of celebration of line it's so
- 00:32:03useful in so many ways and I have used
- 00:32:05it over and over again I thought that
- 00:32:06was totally my invention and suddenly I
- 00:32:09realized that that damn shape has been
- 00:32:12tattooed in my
- 00:32:16brain many many
- 00:32:19ago let's talk about contemporary which
- 00:32:21contemporary artist you most admire well
- 00:32:23again what I admire is what I can do
- 00:32:26myself it's a big statements and to be
- 00:32:29in the studio and work with a lot of
- 00:32:30people for example when Cara Walker did
- 00:32:33these giant things called a subtlety you
- 00:32:37like that blew my mind or when Laura
- 00:32:40Owens did this Vango installation in the
- 00:32:42Vango Museum in Arles room after room
- 00:32:45after room of things that connect and
- 00:32:48wallpaper and paintings on there and the
- 00:32:50paintings in there and the books like so
- 00:32:52unbelievably generous but also so much
- 00:32:55work and such a visual understanding of
- 00:32:57the whole thing something like that just
- 00:32:59blows my mind that's pure admiration and
- 00:33:02then there are of course all the artists
- 00:33:04that are my friends that I'm talking to
- 00:33:06like jacen humph or Yota CA they are
- 00:33:09really good friends where there's an
- 00:33:11ongoing conversation and there will be
- 00:33:13the one work where I'm just coming into
- 00:33:16the studio and got like oh that's
- 00:33:19great you're
- 00:33:23like but is is there any sense of
- 00:33:25competition because I know that you are
- 00:33:26very much part of an artistic community
- 00:33:28and lots of painters actually and
- 00:33:30therefore is there any sense of like you
- 00:33:32know you go oh and then do you go
- 00:33:34back to the studio and think I've got to
- 00:33:35out my game here of
- 00:33:38course but it's really because we are
- 00:33:40all nerds in the end you like I that are
- 00:33:42really thinking about painting and doing
- 00:33:44something and or like met Conners or
- 00:33:46rich alri or Alex quer I go to their
- 00:33:49Studios and then I'm just like yes
- 00:33:52that's what we are thinking about you're
- 00:33:53like you did it this way it's completely
- 00:33:55different from mine you have inhaled
- 00:33:57other things and you have transformed
- 00:33:59them in different ways but it adds so
- 00:34:02much to my understanding of what
- 00:34:03painting can do and it is such a good
- 00:34:07place to be to have that communication
- 00:34:09and to just take part in it and I'm
- 00:34:12super grateful for that I just have the
- 00:34:14best
- 00:34:16friends one of the things I think so
- 00:34:18interesting about that now is of course
- 00:34:20you emerg from a scene in 1990s Germany
- 00:34:23where you made this very important point
- 00:34:25that because of the stakes in Germany in
- 00:34:28the ' 80s and '90s painting was never
- 00:34:30not important right and that's never
- 00:34:33left you you said that the sense of
- 00:34:34painting is an important and powerful
- 00:34:36thing has always been part of you since
- 00:34:38you were a young artist yeah and I think
- 00:34:40that what it meant was that I didn't
- 00:34:42have to spend a lot of energy into
- 00:34:46fighting the outside I could transfer
- 00:34:49the fight into my studio and fight with
- 00:34:51myself to get to the best conclusion in
- 00:34:53a painting I really had the freedom to
- 00:34:56do the best that I could without having
- 00:34:59to make any statements outside yeah that
- 00:35:02that was important and of course also
- 00:35:05people like Albert an or kienberger were
- 00:35:08just doing something with painting that
- 00:35:10was so incredibly fresh so just as a
- 00:35:13possibility of a painting not having to
- 00:35:16have that weight of reference but to
- 00:35:19actually be in the future and not in the
- 00:35:21past that in itself was a predicament
- 00:35:25that probably gave me a real boost
- 00:35:28I mean now I know I would always have
- 00:35:30painted if life would have thrown me
- 00:35:32into a different time and a different
- 00:35:33space I would have probably made the
- 00:35:35exact same paintings but maybe not maybe
- 00:35:38I am where I am because I actually was
- 00:35:40lucky enough to be at the right time at
- 00:35:42the right moment and place over and over
- 00:35:46again what's so interesting again about
- 00:35:49that is about the different places you
- 00:35:51in in Germany because of course you were
- 00:35:52in Cologne and then you also were in y
- 00:35:54gundor studio in dorf right so so you
- 00:35:58had experience of different scenes and I
- 00:36:00I believe that when you went to dorf
- 00:36:02because of the different nature of the
- 00:36:04debate there that again freshened your
- 00:36:05look at painting in that period it's
- 00:36:08even more than that because I started
- 00:36:09out in Hamburg and hambur kst Academy
- 00:36:12was very media oriented so my very first
- 00:36:16mind blown experiences with art were
- 00:36:19actually in Hamburg so the very first
- 00:36:21crit I had was with France erard Walter
- 00:36:24absolutely hardcore minimalist formalist
- 00:36:27and what he did was he took my works on
- 00:36:30paper which is what I made at the time
- 00:36:3220 years old and he turned them around
- 00:36:36and he said now we're talking and just
- 00:36:38the traces that you saw on the other
- 00:36:39side and that immediately just really
- 00:36:42blew my mind it was like he's so right
- 00:36:45this is so much better on the other side
- 00:36:48so there were those triggers over and
- 00:36:50over again where I would be confronted
- 00:36:52with somebody or something that was just
- 00:36:55new and exciting of course of as a
- 00:36:58person was just a really entertaining
- 00:37:02Larger than Life entity it was just
- 00:37:05being together with some really baffling
- 00:37:09slightly monstrous but also actually the
- 00:37:13word that comes in my mind now is
- 00:37:14tenderness because there was an
- 00:37:16incredible generosity in him and he was
- 00:37:20mind you the guest teacher in Hamburg
- 00:37:23and so he was my first painting teacher
- 00:37:25right and so when I came to D off I went
- 00:37:29to art school and I was in the scha
- 00:37:32surrounding and class where a lot of
- 00:37:34good artists came out like Katarina FR
- 00:37:36was in my class but IM he just blew my
- 00:37:38mind and I went there every morning and
- 00:37:41worked for him I don't even know it
- 00:37:43wasn't that many years but it was just
- 00:37:49great a brush withd is sponsored by
- 00:37:51Bloomberg connects the arts and culture
- 00:37:53app the free app offers access to more
- 00:37:55than 500 cultural organizations through
- 00:37:57a sing Le download with new guides being
- 00:37:59added regularly among the latest
- 00:38:00additions are a range of British
- 00:38:02organizations including the Roberts
- 00:38:03Institute of Art tobert Rice Gallery in
- 00:38:06Edinburgh and the wolver Hampton art
- 00:38:07gallery among the guides on the app are
- 00:38:09numerous museums and galleries in the US
- 00:38:11that have shown and collected Charlene
- 00:38:13Von hil's work from the Whitney Museum
- 00:38:15of American art and the kitchen in New
- 00:38:17York to the IC in Boston and the Walker
- 00:38:19Art Center in Minneapolis download
- 00:38:22Bloomberg connects and you'll see that
- 00:38:23the guide to the Walker Art Center has
- 00:38:25information on the displays of its
- 00:38:26permanent colle ction in the museum and
- 00:38:28in the Minneapolis Sculpture Park it
- 00:38:30also has an in-depth feature on the
- 00:38:32Walker's current exhibition Keith
- 00:38:34Herring artist for everybody with audio
- 00:38:36content in which artists respond with
- 00:38:38unique insight to key works in the
- 00:38:40exhibition to explore digital guides to
- 00:38:42all the partnering institutions download
- 00:38:44the app today it's available from the
- 00:38:46App Store and Google Play and you can
- 00:38:48keep up to date by following Bloomberg
- 00:38:49connects on Facebook and
- 00:38:56Instagram what do you have pinned to the
- 00:38:58studio wall the funny thing is because I
- 00:39:01am so much in this whole world of
- 00:39:03looking through images on the computer
- 00:39:05Tumblr and all that stuff and of course
- 00:39:07I'm not on social media at all so I do
- 00:39:10what all those spies do I drag the
- 00:39:13images on my desktop and then I used to
- 00:39:16just put them into folders that have
- 00:39:18monthly dates and basically forget them
- 00:39:20and never look at them again and then
- 00:39:22during the pandemic when I was working
- 00:39:24on the BTY Chelly remake for time of it
- 00:39:28I started to actually print out every
- 00:39:30single image that I dragged and wrote on
- 00:39:33it what it exactly was and dat stamped
- 00:39:35it and I have done that ever since so
- 00:39:38I'm actually pinning those things on the
- 00:39:40walls while I'm printing them out and
- 00:39:43they become a slow sort of uh reference
- 00:39:46to you know like a mood I'm creating and
- 00:39:49all the synchronicities that play out in
- 00:39:52that display and then there are some
- 00:39:54images that I print out over and over
- 00:39:56again I see there are certain boys
- 00:39:58drawings that are just really important
- 00:40:01and I think the most beautiful thing on
- 00:40:03earth right there are two postcards
- 00:40:05actually that travel from Studio to
- 00:40:07studio and that's probably the question
- 00:40:08you asked one is this weird Bona cat
- 00:40:12from the M do this white cat that's oh I
- 00:40:15know it it's wonderful I even painted a
- 00:40:17little frame around it I just love it so
- 00:40:19much it has it's so funny and has all
- 00:40:21the tenderness in the world and all the
- 00:40:23weirdness and it's such good painting I
- 00:40:26mean Bon and vya are so important to me
- 00:40:28too I love them so much yeah you've said
- 00:40:31that you create a mood machine in your
- 00:40:33studio when you build a new body of work
- 00:40:36and it's not just about images but it's
- 00:40:38about objects that you have around you
- 00:40:40in other words the entire Studio setup
- 00:40:42is somehow refreshed as you turn to each
- 00:40:44new body of work and it's really funny
- 00:40:46like uh now I just came back to mafa in
- 00:40:49my studio here and I was looking at and
- 00:40:51I thought why are those two dried out
- 00:40:54totes on my table and of course they had
- 00:40:57to do with the apocalypse and the Toads
- 00:41:01that come out of the mouth of the and
- 00:41:03and fall from the sky and all that stuff
- 00:41:06and just because I wanted to have this
- 00:41:07feeling of those toads I bought some
- 00:41:10actual toads on uh
- 00:41:14eBay but of course I'm also completely
- 00:41:16forgetting those things and suddenly
- 00:41:18it's like wait why is there this little
- 00:41:21plastic figurine of a lamp with seven
- 00:41:24horns and seven eyes
- 00:41:29so I do have those fetish objects and I
- 00:41:31I do create those surroundings that are
- 00:41:34just doing
- 00:41:35something which museum or Gallery do you
- 00:41:37visit most frequently well it's probably
- 00:41:39MAA the met the drawing Center the
- 00:41:42museums in New York and it's because
- 00:41:45traveling is so tedious in New York I I
- 00:41:47usually make one art day where I go and
- 00:41:50see all the shows that I want to see
- 00:41:52it's quite rarely actually that I just
- 00:41:54go into the museum it's just the
- 00:41:56logistics of living in New York with
- 00:41:58having a a studio in Brooklyn and the
- 00:42:00whole commute thing and all this it just
- 00:42:03doesn't happen that much right so in
- 00:42:05other words you're seeing new things to
- 00:42:07fill your memory bank if you like of
- 00:42:09images exactly and when I'm in the met I
- 00:42:11will always go and look at the Mane the
- 00:42:14take of the crucifix painting because
- 00:42:16it's my favorite painting and stuff like
- 00:42:18that you know like they're my favorites
- 00:42:20that I will just say hello to but uh I
- 00:42:23rarely just venture
- 00:42:25out which cultural experience changed
- 00:42:27the way you see the world I think again
- 00:42:31it is not one thing but it is when I was
- 00:42:3417 that was basically the time for
- 00:42:36example the first time I saw a fasbinder
- 00:42:38movie like mind blown the first time I
- 00:42:40saw pasolini movie mind blown the first
- 00:42:44time it was a great time for Cinema so I
- 00:42:46think that played a big role in my
- 00:42:48changing inside the culture but I was
- 00:42:52also lucky to have very very good art
- 00:42:54teachers two different ones one who was
- 00:42:56very contemporary and was talking about
- 00:42:58boys and what it means and the art as a
- 00:43:00social project and all that stuff and
- 00:43:03another one older one who was very much
- 00:43:05into just slideshows of classical things
- 00:43:09and he let half the class sleep and the
- 00:43:13four people that are excited being
- 00:43:15excited and so at the end of the year
- 00:43:19once we went to Florence all together
- 00:43:20and I remember him basically breaking
- 00:43:23out in tears in front of the
- 00:43:24Annunciation of uh Simona selli in theit
- 00:43:29and we were all kind of embarrassed but
- 00:43:31it stuck with me so that was all early
- 00:43:34things that fed into being an artist but
- 00:43:37I also I was so arrogant I I was always
- 00:43:41just so sure that I am an artist and
- 00:43:44already as a child I was so sure that I
- 00:43:47was an artist and that I was a painter
- 00:43:49even though I wasn't painting and wasn't
- 00:43:51even want to paint so it it's really
- 00:43:55it's strange do you think that
- 00:43:57conviction comes from that experience
- 00:44:00you described with the vs of just having
- 00:44:02to absorb that work and and wanting it
- 00:44:04to be part of you and therefore the idea
- 00:44:07of being an artist and wanting
- 00:44:09desperately to be an artist comes from
- 00:44:11something like that I actually think
- 00:44:13we're all born as artists but I do think
- 00:44:17some more than others if you look at a
- 00:44:20lot of artists background there will be
- 00:44:22the one person who almost was an artist
- 00:44:25you like the mother or the father or the
- 00:44:26grand father there will be the one
- 00:44:28creative person that was married to
- 00:44:32being visually dependent on having art
- 00:44:36around themselves or there will be this
- 00:44:38weird Outsider who was doing things
- 00:44:40differently I think there is a
- 00:44:42staggering of from both sides of almost
- 00:44:46artists before there is somebody who has
- 00:44:49this urgency is born with this urgency
- 00:44:52to have to do it and I don't know if
- 00:44:55that always plays out I get breaks my
- 00:44:57heart to think about all the women in
- 00:44:59history who were born like that and
- 00:45:01couldn't and you like it makes me angry
- 00:45:03to think about all the artworks that we
- 00:45:06don't have because it was not possible
- 00:45:09for women to have the same chances and
- 00:45:13they would have to be so incredibly
- 00:45:15energetic and determined to work against
- 00:45:19the society there comes through
- 00:45:20obviously there were a lot of them who
- 00:45:22did it but there were so many of them
- 00:45:24that could have and couldn't that's a
- 00:45:27very good point which writers or poets
- 00:45:30do you return to well if I do this thing
- 00:45:33you're like where you go to the
- 00:45:34Bookshelf and you just grab the one book
- 00:45:36where you just know it's going to have
- 00:45:38the killer sentence that is the sentence
- 00:45:40of the day the way people used to do it
- 00:45:42with the Bible I think for me it's
- 00:45:45mostly Emily Dickinson like it's always
- 00:45:47a perfect sentence but also Paul Valerie
- 00:45:51notebooks I actually have the faximile
- 00:45:54of all his notebooks which is like 20
- 00:45:57seven giant volumes I got those on eBay
- 00:46:00I love
- 00:46:01eBay and he had all those funny drawings
- 00:46:03in it which I'm doing too I'm copying
- 00:46:06half of what I read into notebooks and
- 00:46:09make a thousand drawings but also
- 00:46:12strangely enough I just always come back
- 00:46:15to Peter hka the German language in it
- 00:46:17is so clear and the way that he is so
- 00:46:20completely devoted to describing he is
- 00:46:24one of the writers who makes me see and
- 00:46:27feel at the same time there is of course
- 00:46:29a certain pesos in it but that's me
- 00:46:33right yeah going back to Emily Dickinson
- 00:46:36is it a portrait of her in the Poetry
- 00:46:39machine paintings it is simple as a
- 00:46:41representation of Emily Dickinson or is
- 00:46:43she a more emblematic figure to a
- 00:46:45certain degree it is emblematic as more
- 00:46:48in this spinster type you like it could
- 00:46:51be Virginia wolf it could be Emily
- 00:46:52Dickinson it could be that type of woman
- 00:46:55at the time who was like stubbornly
- 00:46:58insisting on their work and they were
- 00:47:01always defined as not the female entity
- 00:47:05that the society needed you know like
- 00:47:07they were taking themselves out of the
- 00:47:09equation and they were often referred to
- 00:47:12as spinsters you're like putting all the
- 00:47:15energy into the work and yeah you can
- 00:47:17feel that absolutely especially when you
- 00:47:19read biographical information about the
- 00:47:21way that people saw Emily Dickinson you
- 00:47:24know there she was making this
- 00:47:25extraordinary important the work that
- 00:47:27nobody really knew about and of course
- 00:47:29the whole society around her is baffled
- 00:47:31by this it's such an extraordinary
- 00:47:33Endeavor that isn't it and again I think
- 00:47:35there probably were so many more women
- 00:47:38who were doing fantastic poetry and
- 00:47:40fantastic work and you're like that just
- 00:47:43uh got carelessly thrown out at some
- 00:47:45point by it's sheer luck that we have
- 00:47:48all that stuff that it did get preserved
- 00:47:51and you say that poetry often is in the
- 00:47:53backgrounds of the paintings I know that
- 00:47:55in certain paintings you'll write
- 00:47:57something on the canvas it we won't see
- 00:47:58it in the final version but there will
- 00:48:00often be quotes like your quote of the
- 00:48:01day if you like will be underneath the
- 00:48:03surface is that right not
- 00:48:06entirely let's say it
- 00:48:09it it has happened it's more in the
- 00:48:12works on paper actually because there's
- 00:48:13a in between thing between the poetry
- 00:48:16and the paintings that plays out a
- 00:48:18little bit more direct right and you
- 00:48:20have these motto paintings don't you and
- 00:48:22they're sort of around you as part of
- 00:48:24that mood machine that we were talking
- 00:48:25about yes and and right now coming back
- 00:48:27to mafa I'm just thinking what's going
- 00:48:29to be my motto what's going to be my
- 00:48:31motto and then that's what I love about
- 00:48:34synchronicity and why I love it so much
- 00:48:36is there will it will suddenly be there
- 00:48:39and it will be so perfect and it will
- 00:48:41trigger the whole thing but that maybe
- 00:48:44also because like I spent the last two
- 00:48:47days now being here watching animals and
- 00:48:49I realize that is a theme that I go back
- 00:48:52to over and over again but uh putting
- 00:48:54animals into paintings is a little bit
- 00:48:56like putting writing into paintings it's
- 00:48:59such an entity that's so heavy as a
- 00:49:02Content that I have to find a way of
- 00:49:04making it a shape like the rabbit that
- 00:49:07is very often now in the paintings
- 00:49:09actually did turn into a shape that I
- 00:49:11can use but that's not so easy to pull
- 00:49:14off with other animals I'm sure we'll
- 00:49:18see
- 00:49:22[Music]
- 00:49:33what music or other audio do you listen
- 00:49:34to while you're working I listen to
- 00:49:39audiobooks a lot right now I'm listening
- 00:49:41to the Memoirs of uh Vera herok which
- 00:49:44are really great uh another person that
- 00:49:48I very much admire just the wholeness of
- 00:49:51his vision and the stubborn urgency that
- 00:49:54he just pulls it through is really
- 00:49:57fantastic in terms of music I mean there
- 00:49:59were musical references in your titles
- 00:50:01all the time there's a painting called
- 00:50:02Russian Jazz for instance there's a
- 00:50:05painting called guitar gangster is that
- 00:50:07just word play is that just you finding
- 00:50:09words or for instance will there be
- 00:50:11things that you have in the studio
- 00:50:12musically that will be triggering some
- 00:50:15of the title some of the thoughts in the
- 00:50:17work yes but it's not actually a direct
- 00:50:21reflection the title Russian Jazz for
- 00:50:23example gave me more like a weird
- 00:50:26feeling about post-war atmosphere in
- 00:50:29Russia that has also an aesthetic value
- 00:50:32so that was the reason for the title it
- 00:50:34was not that I was actually listening to
- 00:50:36Russian Jazz so it's in a way you kind
- 00:50:38of encapsulating your feeling yes
- 00:50:41through words in that sense yes I wanted
- 00:50:43to also ask about a very specific
- 00:50:44reference that I read about which is in
- 00:50:46the painting which is called lady moth
- 00:50:48and I believe that's that relates to the
- 00:50:50fact that your mother had died around
- 00:50:52that time and her name was Marianne
- 00:50:55adelene and and then there's this
- 00:50:57Richard Clayderman reference in
- 00:50:59particularly his ballad for adelene and
- 00:51:02tell me about that how did that arrive
- 00:51:04in the work well actually strangely
- 00:51:07enough the motif of the The Moth
- 00:51:10especially that weird moth that has a
- 00:51:12death skull on its back which is such an
- 00:51:14iconic image my mother was obsessed with
- 00:51:18something called La Longo she was French
- 00:51:21and uh she was always looking for the
- 00:51:23words that are hidden in words and of
- 00:51:26course the word moth is in mother so it
- 00:51:30was a double reference to her and the
- 00:51:33balad for adene is a I think we just had
- 00:51:36it at the house because of the name and
- 00:51:39it was Richard Clay and it was total
- 00:51:41kitch of course but it's also extremely
- 00:51:44seductive and extremely really goes
- 00:51:46under your skin and you can't get it out
- 00:51:48of your head forever once you hear it it
- 00:51:51was a weird Kit Anem sometimes it's also
- 00:51:55the surface is just what it is sometimes
- 00:51:58thoughts are also really as Alva Gardner
- 00:52:01said deep inside I'm very superficial I
- 00:52:04always like that
- 00:52:05quote right but I think also that's an
- 00:52:08important point about your work is that
- 00:52:11because it is effectively abstract even
- 00:52:14though it has motifs that are
- 00:52:15recognizable it doesn't mean that it
- 00:52:17doesn't involve personal memory or
- 00:52:19autobiography or whatever that's all
- 00:52:21still bound up in the language yes but
- 00:52:24it also comes after the fact often it's
- 00:52:27a mix in the end the paintings need to
- 00:52:29work visually there are no hidden
- 00:52:31messages that are important the messages
- 00:52:33that are in there are for my own sake
- 00:52:36and they are references to
- 00:52:38synchronicities and the way that the
- 00:52:40world does bind together in the weirdest
- 00:52:44way and uh that gets reflected in the
- 00:52:47paintings that they are bound together
- 00:52:49in strange ways as well but it's not
- 00:52:51more than that what other media
- 00:52:53influence your work of course the
- 00:52:55internet
- 00:52:57a big friend and I also wanted to talk
- 00:52:59about film here because you've already
- 00:53:01mentioned fast bender and Pelini earlier
- 00:53:03on but I know that Rober Bron was a
- 00:53:05useful filmmaker there's a very
- 00:53:07interesting point that you made that you
- 00:53:08wanted the paint in the work IIT or IG
- 00:53:12to use the paint rather as he used the
- 00:53:15amateur actors in his
- 00:53:17films and I thought that was a really
- 00:53:19intriguing reference in a way you wanted
- 00:53:21to cut away the acting you somehow
- 00:53:23wanted it to have a kind of Truth in
- 00:53:25that language that you were using the
- 00:53:27paint and I think that was a longing for
- 00:53:32that tenderness that comes with
- 00:53:34respecting and seeing what is instead of
- 00:53:37make belief where your whole body kind
- 00:53:40of accepts something a similar way of
- 00:53:44seeing it was I was obsessed for a while
- 00:53:46with again the studio surrounding buying
- 00:53:49figurines that had been painted in a way
- 00:53:52that was detached from the desire to
- 00:53:56make something but that was just a
- 00:53:58fabricated way of putting the paint on
- 00:54:00it always looks better than the
- 00:54:02intentional stuff it's actually the
- 00:54:04opposite of tenderness but it it has
- 00:54:06something to do with that space that
- 00:54:08buffer zone that allows for something to
- 00:54:11be itself but of course Bron is an
- 00:54:14absolutely disciplined formalist and I'm
- 00:54:18a formalist as well but I am way more of
- 00:54:23course going through a trial and error J
- 00:54:26position frenzy which is the opposite of
- 00:54:30what he's doing you're like he has a
- 00:54:31very BR didn't practice hacken
- 00:54:34schlagen exactly thank
- 00:54:40you is there a particular discipline in
- 00:54:44your daily working life that you see as
- 00:54:45an essential ritual I think Solitude is
- 00:54:48just very important it limits me in a
- 00:54:51certain way because I don't have a
- 00:54:52thousand assistants next to me that I
- 00:54:54can say print this out and do that and
- 00:54:56also reflect things in or even work for
- 00:55:00because you're like I don't have this
- 00:55:02direct audience but I the older I get
- 00:55:05the more this interior space needs to be
- 00:55:09widened and furnished and it's becoming
- 00:55:12more and more important and there are
- 00:55:15rituals that make sure that this is U
- 00:55:18possible I guess it's not really ritual
- 00:55:21but it's it's a desire for a certain way
- 00:55:24of being if you could live with just one
- 00:55:27work of art what would it be it would be
- 00:55:30a WS painting a blue
- 00:55:32[Laughter]
- 00:55:35Phantom I thought you might say that any
- 00:55:38other WS painting as well I just saw
- 00:55:39another one it's just I don't know what
- 00:55:41it is but they just have everything for
- 00:55:43me I don't know why and lastly what is
- 00:55:47art for you know what we were talking at
- 00:55:49the very beginning about that art
- 00:55:51triggers creativity I think to say what
- 00:55:54is art for if you say what is art it is
- 00:55:57the expression of creativity and I think
- 00:56:00that we are all would be completely
- 00:56:02without it you like it's just and
- 00:56:05not possible without it you're like I
- 00:56:06think human beings have always been
- 00:56:08creative that's who why we are who we
- 00:56:11are in our all idiosyncratic ways and I
- 00:56:15think the way that artists are creative
- 00:56:17and the artwork that comes out of it
- 00:56:19should be something that triggers the
- 00:56:21creativity in the audience to go into
- 00:56:25this Loop where something gets seen
- 00:56:28differently or done differently or even
- 00:56:31triggered something that has already
- 00:56:33been there but gets let loose through it
- 00:56:36so I think it's bound in this Loop of
- 00:56:39necessity and urgency we just need
- 00:56:46it well Charlene thank you so much it
- 00:56:49was my pleasure entirely
- 00:56:57[Music]
- 00:57:00to see images of works by Charlene and
- 00:57:01Von Hile and to get news of forthcoming
- 00:57:03shows visit her Gallery pel's website
- 00:57:06that's petzl.com
- 00:57:10and that's it for this episode please
- 00:57:12subscribe to a brush with wherever
- 00:57:13you're listening and do give us a rating
- 00:57:15or review on Apple podcasts do also
- 00:57:17subscribe to our sister podcast the week
- 00:57:19in art a deep dive into the latest big
- 00:57:21art World Stories the top shows and the
- 00:57:23key issues which is back in September
- 00:57:25and please subscribe to the art
- 00:57:26newspaper at theart newspaper.com we're
- 00:57:28on X tan audio and on Facebook Instagram
- 00:57:31and threads production editing and sound
- 00:57:33design on a brush with by David clack
- 00:57:35and the producer is LS Jeb thanks also
- 00:57:38to Daniela Hathaway A big thank you to
- 00:57:40Charlene Von H thank you for listening
- 00:57:42we'll see you next week bye for
- 00:57:45now a brush with is sponsored by
- 00:57:47Bloomberg connects download Bloomberg
- 00:57:49connects today and discover cultural
- 00:57:51institutions on demand
- Charlene Von Hil
- painting
- artistic influences
- creative process
- emotional engagement
- solitude
- art and creativity
- experimental art
- abstract art
- art history