About my Work

The landscape paintings of Marianne Gielen can be interpretated as colourful undergrowth. It appears as if they are painted indiscriminately und haphazardly. If looked at longer, the colours vibrate, grow and catch the eye of the beholder. These landscapes present us more than just the visible, more than the surface web of structured colour. Landscape, which suggest an inner depth of content. It implicates something afar, some distant yearning and at the same time something of the inner self. All these landscapes tell their own story.
Landscape paintings of Marianne Gielen
 

For the artist Marianne Gielen, painting is also about signs.
"making a statement" as a cultural necessity of man at all times is her theme. The signs of drawing or the drawing hand is, in every respect, an expression of a particular physical motion. But also of intellectual, cultural, and psychological disposition. The stream of lines growing from the gesture of the hand, with the overlapping and condensing of pictorial traces, becomes also a sign of the alienation of meditative energies. Insofar the signs are witnesses. They tell stories and things, personal and otherwise, that that many know and therefore share with others.
Dr. Gerlinde Förster Art historian and curator
 

It is always hard to talk about own art. Today it is even more difficult to claim the term “art” for one’s work than it was in the 19th Century, when artists were less reluctant. With Bertold Brecht, who never called himself a poet, but a playwriter, l call myself a producer or a manufacturer of fine art.

When l create a new picture, sculpture or installation my starting point is too fold:

1. My basic attitude to wards this corresponds with my view of the world and the everyday life as l see it. Different findings and objectives influence on my view:
On the one hand l think human society today consequently my own life also is under a certain pressure, and the individual no longer finds the support in his family and his society, he has hoped for. This is accompanied by a decline of mutual tolerance and consideration in our society, which l find alarming. On the other hand this negative judgment is often softened by positive experiences with other people. This constant tension l feel has consequences for my specific way of painting and manufacturing.
Furthermore l see an impact by our threatened environment and on ignorance of the human being towards its own living space which is quite incredible. This problem has increased, and this negative effect is now much stronger than 10 or 15 years ago. Here too, l am in a constant area of conflict, because l myself do not always act and live according to these criteria. This also contributes to my works, however l don’t realize it, when working. l often only realize some details in my works when l have finished them.
Something else has imposed on my position and my personal situation. A few years ago l have had a life-threatening illnes which still keeps my mind occupied in a very existential way. To have overcome such a situation is both engagement and burden.
The specific procedure of my works is strongly characterized by external impressions an influences as well as by my ideas, which again stem from external impressions or have grown spontaneously and independently. Often it is curiosity, e. g. to test a new material or a new technique or to have another aesthetical viewing. Generally, there are always spontaneous elements predominantly in the beginning of a work, the aesthetical categories have stronger effects when progressing.

2. In spite of these comments l have to admit, that often the manufacturing process takes another course, and it is hard to put this into words. For example when going on a trip, my mind toys with the unknown, so my fantasy anticipates an impression, which has not happened yet. On the other hand l might not immediately make use of my impressions on such a trip, but set to work independently. Not because impressions were lacking, but l might want to realize other ideas. In these cases l frequently experience that only later l make use of my impressions, be it they reflect colours of structures l have seen or even things having happened, like social or personal experiences.

This complexity makes it complicated to talk about my own works. On vernissages l am often astonished about the approach and comments of competent people towards my works. l very much appreciate those people giving me their opinion. Also welcome are comments of people who have no particular link to the fine arts. l often learn about certain perceptions of my own work.

Finally, l would like to emphasize one point of view, which becomes obvious when comparing my works with the ones of other artists l personally know. Evidently, my character, my temperament and my nature show greatly in my works, although while working l do not realize this happens or how it happens. As l said, this is only evident in comparison to the works of others, whose individual natures l can recognize in their works, as far as l know them. At the same time it strikes me that my works clearly differ from that.

Marianne Gielen, April 2004