Hans Weigand: Neue Vienna ArtExhibition Opens March 8 at Icehouse Artspace in Sarasota
Sarasota, FL, March 4, 2014 – Direct from Europe to Sarasota, Alfstad& Productions presents the large-scale, mixed-media paintings of Hans Weigand in his biggest exhibition ever in the United States. Hans Weigand: Neue Vienna Art features more than 30 works, consisting of 15 pieces imported from Austria, 10 created in Sarasota, a large 8-panel folding screen and a series of serigraphs. This 10-day exhibition runs from March 8-16 at the IceHouse Artspace.
Since the 1970′s, Weigand has emerged as one of the leading multidimensional artists in Europe. A master image-manipulator, Weigand employs media ranging from renaissance printing techniques to woodcarving to modern UV-printing, silkscreens and under-and over-painted collages. His influences include American pop and trash culture, rock and punk music, science fiction and psychedelia, modern architecture and beach scenes.
“Hans’ dynamic, large-scale paintings bring a wild, otherworldly beauty to Sarasota,” says co-curator Sam Alfstad. “Han’s process of creating art is masterful and viewers will see an exhibition unlike any other ever seen in this region.”
Before beginning his work, Weigand believes every idea must be deconstructed, reconsidered and finally reconstructed. Then, layer upon layer, he montages his images like movies. Starting with a beautiful but simple vocabulary—the sea, crashing waves, storm clouds, apocalyptic landscapes, gorillas, comic characters and surfers—each of his works builds in complexity to depict the foggy, fleeting line where paradise meets reality.
“Hans freezes wild and turbulent moments that have never existed,” says Alfstad noting that his images expand out like the rolling breakers he paints. “A door is left open for interpretations and viewers are compelled to enter in, reconsider, reconstruct and contribute their own desires and fantasies to the evocative and haunting worlds he creates.”
The Weigand Process:
Having worked with large-scale multimedia collages for the last three decades, Weigand uses a 3-step process for the production of many of his canvases. He first paints a backdrop, consisting of abstract images of nocturnal and daytime “atmospheres.” On the painted backgrounds then prints large, montages of photographic elements, primarily seascapes shot in California and on the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Often another layer of architectural and environmental details of US vernacular culture is collaged into the scene. Sometimes, above the tidal wave of trashy and flashy imagery, a “ghost” surfer invisibly rides an empty surfboard as it cuts through the debris of contemporary civilization. The third, and final, layer consists of painterly gestures that wash across the hygienic aesthetics of digital production. This process and it’s results have been embraced by European art collectors for four decades.
About Hans Weigand:
www.hans-weigand.com
Born 1954 in Hall, Tirol, Austria
Studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna (Prof. Oswald Oberhuber)
Lives and works in Vienna, Berlin and Tyrol, Austria
Previous Hans Weigand US exhibitions:
Hans Weigand: Neue Vienna Art, 2014.
Deep Water Horizon - UC San Diego University Art Gallery, 2010.
Hans Weigand– PICA, Portland, Oregon, 2005, first US solo exhibition.
Life-Boat (with Raymond Pettibon, Jason Rhoades), MAK-Schindler House, Los Angeles.
Hans Weigand, Gallery Achim Kubinski, NY, NY, 1993.
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