Edgar Diehl
For an artist educated in Germany the great painter Caspar David Friedrich is inevitable. I think most of my college loved his art! I began my art studies with a focus on him. That which remains in Friedrich’s paintings after removing the imagery is a pure spiritual statement of an all-pervading element, a longing to merge with the limitless and to worship nature—or, better put, creation. Friedrich’s ideas affected me profoundly. I felt I was a kindred soul, and this is still my fundamental motivation for creating art: to find new forms and new ways of expressing this spiritual force is the challenge for my artistic development. Some great artists say that we have only one theme that we work on from the beginning. I must agree!
Even though it may not appear so, I try to continue Friedrich’s work with its aspiration to present the idea of boundlessness within limited visual means, of empathy for creation and knowledge of the interconnections among all things. A Non-Objective working style with its openness and freshness affords space to incorporate a new approach to an idea that is as old as mankind. I appreciate Geometric Art for its freedom from historic and ideological concepts and distance from a traditional perception of life. This research bestows on me precious discoveries!
An artist always has to carry the burden of history on his shoulders. This burden is much lighter for Non-Objective art than for Figurative Art. The relative clarity of geometric forms pushes me to a higher level and gives me a free hand. I am not limited to reproducing appearances and am free in my choice of visual forms. The clarity of geometry forces me to order, and it allows me to avoid kitsch while at the same time using bright colors and risky color combinations. The term “kitsch,” introduced by German philosophers, means beauty without truth. It’s very easy to make pleasing or agreeable images as is done in commercial art. However, there is an ongoing competition about artistic truth among serious artists. Commercial artists don’t take part in it. This competition also extends to the use of new and unusual forms. Commercial art uses old, previously introduced forms. An authentic expressive momentum creates its own artistic form.
contact & information
more information about the artist
www.edgar-diehl.de
email Edgar Diehl
edgar.diehl@gmx.de