The world has too much to offer, so much that it blinds us from the real meaning behind daily encounters. Among the hustle and bustle, as well as sparkles and beauty, what is real life? The answer to this question lies in the seemingly insignificant daily objects in life: only by truly understanding and appreciating tiny details could one find the beauty and meaning behind these details, and thus, acquire a transparent viewpoint towards real life. Through his photorealistic painting of daily objects, Emil Herker, the world renowned Austrian artist, offers us brand new angles to look at life, just like the dazzling reflections on crystals, glasses, metals, and so on. Emil’s latest painting series, ‘Reflections’, features a series of objects ranging from crystal to glass, all sharing the character of numerous reflective surfaces. Through these reflections on different textures and juxtaposition of contrasting objects, the artist hopes to evoke questions and thoughts from the viewers, using their response to complete his paintings by adding meanings to them.
What is so fascinating about reflections that attracts Emil to paint them one after another? Reflections are always unpredictable, varying from texture, light, angle, and so on. Like a miniature of the globe, the stunning effect caused by the absorption and the refraction of light from different angles is an analogy of the diversity of thoughts and ideas raised from a motley of cultures and backgrounds. The encounter of two extremes can ignite unconceivable sparkles and dazzles, like the magnificent reflection on the crystals. One single object can deduce a wide range of symbolic meanings in different cultures.
To Emil, every painted object has a story behind. Yet instead of confining viewers’ perception, he leaves space for imagination by giving ambiguous titles to his work. Intriguing viewers with the subtlety and ambiguity, Emil encourages viewers’ connection to the paintings based on their own experience or imagination. Having no definite interpretation for his work, the artist not only delivers his philosophy, but invites viewers to think and convey their own.
The photorealistic manner is more than a technical precision and a duplication of reality. In fact, it is the attributes and associations of these painted objects that make his work intriguing. Photorealistic quality may be eye-catching at the first sight, yet it is the afterthoughts that would make an impact in your mind. The stunning techniques and the insightful philosophy of the paintings have won Emil the hearts of connoisseurs worldwide, positioning him as a world renowned contemporary artist. His work ‘The lucky dog’, collected by Swarovski, exhibits the dazzle and beauty of crystal while bridging the Austrian origin of this exquisite piece and the culture of Chinese Zodiac. His recent painting ‘The portrait of a shoe’ was selected as a featured auction item in the Hong Kong Vienna Opera Ball 2008, further establishing him as a prominent painter of Austrian background.
The crystal horse is a delicate piece in itself, yet the blurry background along with the witty title ‘The Deadline’ draw the viewers to the humorous undernote of our hectic daily life: We are more busy to rush for the endless deadlines than to discern the beautiful world we are living in. The meticulous depiction of the wineglasses and bottle is a marvelous display of glitter, whereas the title ‘When We Lost the Grip’ seems to tell the underside of the glowing guise. ‘The Night Is Still a Good Friend’ shows the brilliant artistry while the pile of painted light bulbs keep viewers wondering the story and meaning behind. The same applies to ‘Unfortunately, the War Is Over’, where the toy guns illustrate an interesting association with the title. ‘China Spirit’ portrays illustrate the significant figure of contemporary China. Photorealistic as it is, what is portrayed is a duplication instead of a real person. Doesn’t this amusing arrangement somehow reflect certain grotesque phenomena in the real world?
