A monochrome composition of painting and photography
An artistic volcano knows where to erupt.
In June 2020, BURN-IN invites you to an incredible journey to Iceland. Linda Steinthórsdóttir and Johann Wimmer were inspired by gigantic waterfalls, glaciers on black beaches, active volcanoes and spectacular northern lights. The result is truly iridescent. Here the puristic beauty of almost monochrome painting meets the brilliance and expressiveness of black and white photography. In the works Seljalandsfoss, Dettifoss and Skógafoss (190 x 80cm | foss - waterfall) the two artists share a canvas and interact highly sensitively. No one steps into the foreground. Painting and photography merge perfectly into each other. In the viewer arises the urgent desire to penetrate into the depths of the works and to intuitively feel and fathom the boundaries - but this does not always succeed.
Anderswelt
The works of Steinthórsdóttir (Northern Lights, Black & White Series, Glacier, Ash) can be attributed to Minimal Art and stand for the essence, the essential or the identity of landscapes and nature. Whereby the simplicity of form does not necessarily go hand in hand with a simplicity of artistic experience. The works captivate with an enormous liveliness, which is difficult to put into words. These images, as simple as they may look, unfold their real magic and diversity depending on the angle of view or incidence of light. Just like the incredible facets of light, the reflections of light or the refractions of light on water and ice. The incredible, majestic color spectacle shimmers in all its natural, iridescent grace.
In the exhibition, the artists manage the enormously difficult tightrope walk between the surprising, the eruptive, the new and the familiar, the still, the flowing with great excellence.
I had the pleasure to be present at the opening of Linda Steinthórsdóttir's art exhbition last November. I did not know Linda personally by then and I was honored by her kind invitation.
During my visit to Linz, I had the opportunity to see Linda's paintings in her atelier as well as the work on exhibition. When I saw her work - also having learned that she has spent most of her adult life in Austria - the old saying came to me that "you can take a person out of Iceland, but you can't take Iceland out of a person."
This I say, because in my opinion Linda's work is deeply rooted in her home country. The colors and the texture, the ingredients and the ideas reflected in her work - it all brings you to the black sands, the white glaciers, the barren nature and the sometimes blood-red sky of Iceland. Her paintings are a tribute to Icelandic nature in all its variety, in all its beauty. They are very real - so real that one can even find pieces of Iceland in them such as particles from the glacier with the un-pronounceable name: Eyjafjallajökull.
Last but not least I felt a lot of emotions in Linda's work - respect for nature, love for her country of origin, passion for artistic expression, willingness and courage to experiment.
This is what makes good art. It makes you feel - it makes you think - it even makes you wonder. I wish Linda, her family and friends a happy opening and all of you a joyful evening.
Auðunn Atlason, Ambassador of Iceland, Austria, 2015.
BURN-IN ART features
In June, we additionally present works by BURN-IN artists Sabine Nessling and Ares Yannakopoulos. Nessling inspires with her lively, colorful concrete paintings, reminiscent of POP ART, and with classical motifs from Greek mythology. Yannakopolous fascinates with highly independent photo art. His fractals were created at Niagara Falls and in the Alps.
With Cordelia Lehmann-Reinthaller we show for the first time colorful and also thought-provoking art made of clay. Corona Statistik (Corona Statistics), Die Maske (The Mask) - verrutscht (slipped), Ich bin - Narben des Lebens (I am - scars of life), FlammenHaupt (Flamehead) and Verstummt (Falled silent) are the first harbingers at BURN-IN. More works by the Viennese artist will follow in September.
#ArtTransfer
Of natural spectacles, the natural beautiful and co|evolution
Sonja Dolzer
Natural phenomena include the aurora borealis, sea and weather lightning, volcanic eruptions, rainbows, sunset, thunder, waterfall, geysers, solar eclipses, comets, but also animal phenomena such as bird migration, animal migration or the seasons. Much of this can be found in Iceland.
The nature-beautiful counts beside the art-beautiful and the sublime to the essential subject-areas of the aesthetics and plays in the philosophy of the beautiful an important role. Immanuel Kant and Theodor W. Adorno already attributed a special significance to this natural beauty.
Quasi a conscious decision for a lasting co-operation, the progress of all securing. That of mankind and that of the planet.
The Corona crisis shows us razor-sharp, how rapidly a virus globally ventilates, millions infected, thousands carried off, national economies paralyzed, but at the same time also again positive can arise. It shows us the transience, but also the rebirth, just as the ashes do. Many volcanic soils give rise to new things, just think of the wonderful wines on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, or just Steinthórsdóttir's monochromatic works, which use the volcanic ash of Eyjafjallajökull to create special accents.
