HappenArt: Let’s start with a little exercise. I am going to give you a few words so that you give me a definition of what Art represents for you. These are the words: soul, people, life, me, past, present, future.
Vian Borchert:
Soul: “The soul never dies” and “The soul of the artist is revealed through the artwork”.
People: “There is kindness in people”
Life: “Life is so precious for an artist”
Me: “As an artist, it is very important to be me”
Past: “The past prepared me for the present”
Present: “The Present is the most essential time, and the only real time one has.”
Future: “Plan for it – Yet, don’t live your life in the future or else you’ll lose your life today.”
HA: And now, if you were to describe the Painting freely, what words would you choose?
VB:
Painting for me is a bridge I have to cross to be as free as I can be. My abstract expressionist paintings are a product of my own imagination and subconscious allowing me to achieve a sense of freedom like no other. Especially in abstracts, I feel the subconscious and the soul become the most alive and subsequently very free.
HA: And how would you describe your Artwork?
VB:
My artwork is abstract expressionist in a painterly style. My art is a sum of who I am as a person along being a window to my soul. So my paintings capture my vision. What I saw in a journey or an engaging passing thought I have to document on canvas. The titles of my artwork help reveal and deliver the narrative on each painting.
HA: And why the Painting?
VB:
Painting for me is very rewarding. Simply the process of the creation from the pigments coming out of the tubes to the chemistry of the mixture of colors is very fulfilling. I like to almost play with paint where the process delivers me to places where I step into my own world full of colors metaphorically so to speak.
HA: What are the qualities that a Painter should have?
VB:
A painter should first and foremost be true to themselves as an artist meaning true to their vision and identity. A true artist / painter should be also a creative being who is an innovator creating artwork from their vision. A painter should have a passion for the process of creation.
HA: Are your works advice for others or ´arms´ that help you defend yourself from others or from lived experiences?
VB:
My work is the sum of who I am from my victories to my defeats, from the acceptance to the rejections, from unrequited love to fulfilling love. My work is not one thing – it is all of me and all of my life’s journey’s experiences put together in a visual depiction through my art. Hence, my artwork is a vehicle of the ups and downs of my life but also the memories, the nostalgia, the hopes, the fears all coming together in shaping a composition of an effective painting.
In regards to the viewers and my message, my paintings do welcome the viewer to step into my world of colors, waves, brush strokes, composition and allow them to sail away into my world through a visual lyrical journey.
I aim through my art to bring-forth feelings of rejuvenation and even happiness upon viewing my work.
HA: Are there any Artists who have influenced the way you paint or work?
VB:
I admire so many artists and have studied art along teaching for so many years. I’ve always been attracted to artists who present a raw and honest strong vision in their work – artists such as Michelangelo to Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Francis Bacon and Claude Monet. Yet, for me as an artist the point of doing art is to first and foremost express myself and not in any way look at another artist to be similar to. Art for me is a form of exploring my identity and who I am as a creative being. I am aware that I do belong to the expressive painterly modern genre of art so to speak if I have to pinpoint my style.
HA: What do you think of painting these days?
VB:
The state of painting can be better if art education is given more weight.
HA: In conclusion, what do you want to defend or say in your Art?
VB:
For me art is a personal experience not only to the creator but to the viewer as well. Good art and effective paintings do not need the artist to be next to it to defend or describe it to the viewer. If the viewer doesn’t get the desired aesthetic experience from viewing the artwork then the artwork has not done its part in delivering the message regardless of what it is. For artwork to be effective, it needs to stand on its own without the artist defending it or giving it further explanation so that people can understand. The art has to stand strong and deliver on its own, and when it does then the art is a definite success.
Thank you Vian Borchert.
