Margaretha Gubernale
In the realm of your extensive global exhibitions, spanning from the vibrant cityscapes of New York to the historical elegance of Paris and the cultural richness of Beijing, how do you approach the curation of your art for such varied cultural contexts? Does the unique cultural tapestry of each location influence your selection and presentation of works?
When I curate my art between different moral contexts, I at most avoid insults or proselytizing or obscenities against a people. Conciseness for example, I would never commission a Buddhist-minded gallery to present a picture of Christ but would instead see if I could provide a picture of a dragon. I respect every culture as valuable and act accordingly because I love people and their peace. But I have often noticed that my pictures on Facebook can also be understood by people from other cultures.
Throughout your distinguished career, accolades such as the esteemed MARGHERITA HACK award at SPOLETO ARTE and the prestigious gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Fine Art in Beijing have been bestowed upon you. In what manner do these honours shape your artistic ethos? Do they impose an additional layer of expectation or serve as a wellspring of inspiration in your creative endeavours?
Prestigious and other honours oblige me to be grateful to continue creating, to take a step further in disseminating my work, and above all to further develop my own style, so that my patron is also honoured by my creative desire.
Your oeuvre is deeply imbued with themes derived from nature, philosophy, and anthroposophy. Could you elucidate the process by which these conceptual elements coalesce within your creative psyche, and subsequently, how you transmute these abstract notions into tangible art?
Nature, reading and classical music stimulate me. Before I paint a picture and after a subject fertilizes me cognitively, I roll it around in my head for a long time until an embryo emerges. Then I draw this rudimentarily with a few lines, so to speak as an image or mirror of the struggle within me, how do I represent this thought so that the viewer can experience this thought. So that this abstract thought can be understood on a material level, I use the symbolic language of the parable, which dictates my will. The symbolic language in my paintings is governed by intellect and emotion and driven to execution by inner fire. With this process, the abstract thought alloys with the material representation and declares a level that stands above the four elements, the child of the thought.
You have characterized your artistic pursuit as navigating a precarious equilibrium between abstract ideation and the tangible forms of nature. Could you expound upon this dialectic, particularly on how you achieve a harmonious synthesis of these seemingly antithetical elements within your work?
Since I feel the spiritual, driving fire in everything and I have a creative language whose will is harmony, peace, and calm, I work and refine so that the drive does not have a destructive effect and the language does not ebb and I guide it all in the middle of thinking and feeling.
The duality of abstract thoughts and tangible natural forms in your work serves to articulate symbolic parables with lucidity and depth. In navigating this 'tightrope walk,' how do you balance the ethereal qualities of mysticism with the groundedness of nature's imagery to ensure the essence of your philosophical musings is both accessible and profound to your audience?
In everything the spirit is present as a Parareality, even if that spirit manifests itself in millions of other form realities. In these shells of forms lie feelings, senses, and there is a will, a fire for existence. In my work I let the viewer feel the spirit, like the wind in the air, as Parareality, as I call this something. I designate the feelings with colours and surround them with forms, for example the shape of a bull. In a symbolic language, the shape of a bull expresses power and strength, its emotion characterizes the colour red in different facets. I show his will to live in violent movement, and how I paint this bull and what I surround him with and what he does and achieves is the question of the spirit.
Your artistic journey has seen your works grace the halls of illustrious venues such as the Grand Palais in Paris and the iconic Times Square in New York. Among these prestigious exhibitions, is there one that resonates with you on a profound level, perhaps due to its personal or professional significance?
For my professional importance, the three exhibitions, two in the Grand Palais and one in the Grand Palais Éphémère, all three in Paris with the Société des Artistes Indépendants, are ofgreatvalue, especially because the Société des Artistes Indépendants is celebrating its 140th birthday this year celebrated its existence and this society was founded by today's well-known artists, like these, regarded by me with awe, who went through a similar ordeal before me. I will name, alphabetically, only a few of those who belonged to this society: Cezanne, Chagall, Dali, De Chirico, Giacometti, Rousseau, Matisse, Modigliani, Munch, Redon, Van Gogh. These exhibitions were also an intellectual exchange with many worldwide artists.
Your mystic canvases, predominantly rendered in oil, elegantly traverse the realms of nature, philosophy, and anthroposophy, melding abstract ideation with the corporeal forms of the natural world. Could you expound on how the intricate dance between these elements aids in crystallizing the symbolic narratives you wish to convey, and perhaps share how a specific work exemplifies this harmonious interplay?
While creating“Fausta thinks Humility”I thought of Nietzsche’s songs and sayings.“World wisdom”. Don't stay on a level field! Don't climb too high! The world looks most beautiful from halfway up. Nietzsche thought about the dangers that lurk in higher realms and how healthy it is to walk safely in the middle. As demands for power grow and technology reaches dizzying heights, the foot should only go as far as it can go safely. Goethe also takes up this theme in his poem, “The Diver.” Since man is driven by animal desires, pride, envy, greed and so on, he is admonished to be humble, because these drivers may only be used to drive the creative forces or forces for construction, otherwise they have a destructive effect.
See my picture Fausta thinks Humility:
Fausta thinks Humility, oil on canvas, 80 cm x 100 cm, 2019
Fausta is sitting over the books of the four elements in front of a laptop with an open Google page. Fausta reflects the achievements of technology that man can use for his blessing or his downfall. Fausta thinks of the homunculus breaking out of the sealed glass and tries to manoeuvre the books with four elements. Fausta believes that much is possible for man, but there are certain limits to growth from which mankind should be humble, for example with the outsourcing of artificial intelligence, with plutonium and more.
8. Your career reflects a commendable diversity in geographical exhibition venues, spanning continents and cultures. From your vantage point, how critical is such geographical diversity for an artist's evolution, and how has it sculpted your own artistic trajectory?
Since I do not treat any people or country with prejudice and strive to look for what is common in people and their portraits, it very often happens that even in a foreign country I still conciseness for learn something that will benefit my painting can be integrated. Many cultures live together in Switzerland, all of which bow to the requirements of the one state of Switzerland. In painting, too, it is important that a common denominator appears in one's own work and that what is integrated does not appear disturbingly from the whole; it is, so to speak, assimilated in the context. Incidentally, I like to go abroad, but only for a short time, because I suffer from homesickness, like Heidi in the film.
9. It is often noted that artists might adhere to specific rituals or routines to catalyze their creative faculties. Do you engage in any such practices that aid in the genesis and realization of your artistic visions?
The only practice I use prior to the creation of the picture is a prayer to God and my higher self to be allowed to paint a picture that is true and authentic to me.
10. As you gaze into the horizon of your artistic future, are there nascent themes or methodologies you are inclined to explore? How do you envisage the evolution of your artistic expression in the years to come?
Right now, I'm working on a picture about artificial intelligence, which is why I'm researching this topic in depth. My artistic future grows from current and past efforts to perfect my own style and technique in painting. I refer to my image “Now” by lighting each candle that comes to me individually and hoping that it will continue to burn in the future. See my Picture Now:
Now, oil on canvas, 100 cm x 100 cm, 2023
At the first spring full moon of the year is now the planned resurrection in the sea of all-encompassing power. Every candle for the future in the flow of life must be lit, whether white or black, none should swim away unlit. How comforting to have someone help you light one of the black candles because you don't love them! The drone flies over and controls the whole thing in view of the goal.