Arvid Boecker

#119 (Abstract Painting)

2019

Arvid Boecker is a German abstract painter whose work mobilizes the tensions and harmonies that exist between color relationships, textures, and the processes of time. He lives and works in Heidelberg, Germany. Boecker studied art history at the University of Trier from 1987-89, and studied at the University of Fine Arts Saar, Saarbrücken, from 1989-94. He has completed residencies at ACME Studios London, Katwijk aan Zee, NL, and Kilmuir, Isle of Skye, GB. Boecker has exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions, including at White Cube Gallery, New York, Gallery p13, Heidelberg, ART Cologne, Factory 49, Sydney, NIAD Art Center, Richmond, CA, and Factory 49, Sydney. Boecker begins each new work by penciling in his composition. But the work ultimately is about the colors and layers that will evolve on the surface over time. He builds his paint up in a slow process, adding layers of color then partially removing them, allowing the echoes of erosion to remain visible in the final work. The screen printing squeegees he employs add their unique impressions to the surface, mixing the visual language of painting with that of printing. The gradual accumulation of pigment conveys a visual sense of depth, while also communicating a bittersweet emotional feeling that time is passing. The longer one stares at the surface, the further inward the mind may wander towards the underlying landscapes of color and light.