Biography
The theme of my work is nature, landscape and the human set within. The ideas for the subjects derive from the general human perception of visual space.
The new works now show landscapes with cars, bicycles, abandoned huts, things indicating human existence. Interesting for me in this imaging system is the interpretation of human presence created by the observing mind, despite and in effect emphasised through the absence of humans.
As can be seen in 'Yellow Car'. An attention drawing yellow cab, an unimposing white car on the side, an indicated sun shade on the horizon, streetlights, all embedded in a landscape with rich green palm trees, which remind of California. It seems to be the last opportunity to park a car before reaching the beach. The scene mediates a sense of leisure. The place is little touristic and may be an insiders' tip for relaxing. Yet, we are being refused the view behind the curtains, and so it is up to us to imagine the sight of the sea and the people there. In result to this questions arise which go beyond the image and which do not allow a clear answer: Why did the cars come to the beach in first place? Are the passengers still there, what are they doing now? Are the white hills in the front of the painting made of sand or even frozen ice? Is this the typically blue sky of the surfers' paradise or is there a thunder storm coming up?
This ambivalence occurs through the absence of the human figure which is often sought for in the image in order to create associations. Is this an idyllic scene we are watching or has something happened out of sight? Through the medium of painting - through frame and colour - I want to construct the illusion of different levels of reality. The real processes of my paintings are created in the minds of the beholder - within imagination, curiosity and reality.
Bernhard Heller
18 July 2012
