“Painting transforms space into time, music transforms time into space.” Hugo von Hofmannsthal

My work refers to the reality that surrounds me and to the transitions and intersections between music and visual art.
Since I master both the musical instrument (violin) and visual techniques, the process leads to fascinating experiences. In this context, I act more like a performer interpreting a piece of music than a creator who spends weeks on the same artwork, revising and correcting it. The creative process happens more “in the moment,” often fleeting, like playing a piece, yet still focused and concentrated.

I find connections between the two art forms in the representation of a musical melody line, for example, as a line in a painting. I often translate the harmonic structure of a piece of music intuitively into colors and color blocks. From this emerge “visual compositions.” Since music is also a kind of language, these compositions remind me of fragments that come together into a whole in a certain, almost poetic way.
Photography, especially black-and-white photography during the development process, offers a special medium of light to work with—one that can also lead to abstraction.

Some works reflect on the theme of transitions, such as from one place to another; the idea of the lost place is as present as states of illusion and utopia.

I draw inspiration from cultural sources and bring in motifs that are significant in Romanticism.
In addition, I find themes like paradise, longing, as well as contemplation, grief, and meditation—concepts found in religions and across cultures.

Alongside painting, I use a variety of materials, such as paper and recycled fabrics.

Projects (2012/13) – Final Thesis

In my search for images on the internet, I explore my own perception of press photos that appear between advertisements and the full spectrum of images available online. My process is a subjective translation: I paint based on my personal perception of these images as I see them on my computer screen. I derive my color palette from the hues as they appear on the screen, attempting to “translate” what I see into the form of painting.

Among depictions of war and violence, I also encounter words in languages I don’t understand. Through my paintings, I aim to express the overwhelming and often unsettling feeling I experience when viewing these images.

Performance with Kodo Nishimura (makeup artist and Buddhist monk) and Laura Ganem – Fashion Photographer (2013)

After painting from above on a large red sheet of paper, I played a melody on my violin.

All of this was a reflection of what I had read in the media and heard about the current crisis in the Middle East.

The sound of the violin is, to me, a pure and almost sacred tone.

The contradiction between this sound and the violent images was what I wanted to explore in the performance.

Kodo Nishimura painted on my face what he imagined while painting on the floor.

Mexican fashion illustrator and photographer Laura Ganem captured the performance with her camera.

During this performance, the three of us acted as mediums, through which we “translated” what we had just heard, felt, or seen using our own means.

Recent Projects

memoria

Working on a series of paintings inspired by the philosophical idea of Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino.