Savar, Snowless Winter at the Pond - 7 Print

In Erik Oliver Anders' work, there is something that connects his different subjects, something that is more than just a formal singularity or a stylistic characteristic: it is the “drop of paint”. His painting techniques are inspired by the early atomic teachings of Ancient Greece (for example those of philosopher Democritus, who lived around 450 BC) or by the Indian "Milinda Panha", a dialogue between the Buddhist sage Nāgasena and the Indo-Greek king Menander I about the whole and its parts (200-100 BC), as well as by modern particle physics. Nothing in essence is as it appears. Most of what we consider as solid matter is void. For his pictures, Erik Anders uses a basic building block: the drop of paint. Here we find echoes of the pointillism of Georges Seurat from the 1880s - or clear parallels to the action painting of Jackson Pollock in the first half of the 20th century. Erik Anders also refers to a series of his works as "drippings". Erik Anders’ intention is to control the drop, to use it purposefully. Over the past 15 years, he has become a "tamer” of paint drops. First, he lets the drop flow on the canvas (Anders also mentions Nitsch as a model). Lines are created. Rotating the canvas also changes the direction of the flow and, consequently, the course of the lines. By doing so, he creates his basic elements: points and lines. Grids are created, superimposed in several layers, forming abstract structures, yet still evoking the impression of buildings, cities and sceneries. This interplay of literalism and abstraction also recalls Kandinsky's theoretical work "On the Spiritual in Art" (1910) or Japanese Buddhism, freely formulated as "Zen, or the art of letting drops fall". Erik Oliver Anders has a very precise idea and sketches of each of his paintings. Then, he sets out to translate this idea as accurately as possible on a big canvas. Random forms are excluded as far as possible. In several layers, partly reminiscent of Mark Rothko’s glazes, spatial effects are created, which play with concealing and transparency. With this elaborate painting technique, through different grid structures, drop shapes and sizes, he achieves an almost three-dimensional depth effect and permeability. This permeability and openness is also characteristic of Erik Anders' lifestyle. Always curious, open for new things, quick to take up new topics - especially "funny" ones. He loves to play with elements, but also to take an in-depth view at things.