Bernhard View Painting

Those Trees. I'm fascinated with trees. How could I not? Even my name Silvia refers to a person who comes from the trees. My artwork takes a critical view of social, cultural and nature issues. In my work, I explore men’s boundary points with nature as well as his position in society. The dichotomies singularity and mass, wilderness and civilization, proximity and distance permeate the works. Questions about the space one needs for a prosperous being are essential. As in the history of the Icarus and in the constellation of the planets around the sun, it is only the right distance that makes a prosperous being and terrestrial life possible at all. My art is a mixture of figurative compositions with spontaneous or planned sceneries. The nature in the works, however, is always twisted with contrasting elements of urban civilisation. The works feature a combination of various techniques such as photography, printing, painting, scratching, and the use of differing materials, like oil, markers, chalk, ink, preserving jars, popcorn, jumble sale findings and even mould. My main intention is to go beyond horizons and to search for what’s below the surface, digging for the unconscious and the wilderness in oneself. However, the work offers multiple interpretations, but one thing is certain: I want questions, rather than the rigid answers to linger. My art reflects the present state of the world, which seems to be out of joint, as it did in Shakespeare's time. Trees (and since a journey to Costa Rica, palm trees in particular) play a major part in my work. The stormy palm paintings refer to the current geopolitical dangers. The palm trees do not get disrooted by the heavy storms and hurricanes, they remain entrenched. They symbolise the unshakeable and overwhelming power of nature.