Pictures of Bruno Seitz
It's the focus on the landscape as central motif that determines the pictures of Bruno Seitz. Devoid of all human presence, the stylized landscapes and parks appear familiar at first glance, only to reveal themselves as increasingly alien and distant upon further approach. No traces of mankind are discernible, and no links to geographical references can be established. Instead, silence and remoteness characterize these places.
The attempt to describe the artistic devices employed leads to two closely related issues: the representation of nature and the use of light. Yellow-green busches and trees are depicted against an elevated horizon, detached from the white and blue zone of the sky. Only from a distance these highly abstract conical and spherical structures reveal themselves to the observer as representations of tree and bush growth. Kept formally neutral and denying all account of a narrative, they are simply present as actors on stage.
It's the interplay of light and shadow that forms the vegetation and allows it to take shape. A source of light can be guessed to exist outside the image space, however a self-shining and vibrating power emanates from within the colours themselves. This impression is created through the application of colour, a result of very finely painted structures. Seitz adds up to 30 layers of minimal horizontal and vertical movements, so that every detail reveals itself as relief of superimposed layers. This compression increases the tactile quality of the painted surface and boosts the presence of what is represented.
In these vibrating fields of energy our vision is fundamentally redirected to perceive light and matter in their elementary appearance. The landscapes made visible by Bruno Seitz are places beyond the grasp of reality, they are meditative spaces made of light, and through their intensity and presence sensualize the act of seeing.
lic. phil. l. Kretzschmar
translation lic. phil. M. Jenny