oil painting, fachwerk subject green colors

Fachwerk Und

Exploring Half-Timbered Architecture Through the Artistic Lens

In 2018, an encounter with half-timbered buildings in eastern Germany sparked an artistic journey centered around the intricate forms and divisions of space found in this traditional architectural style. Combining oil, acrylic, gouache, and various mixed media, the artist delves into the structural and decorative elements of Fachwerkhäuser, using them as pictorial tools that mirror the convergence of architectural observation and modern visual expression.

I became fascinated by half-timbered buildings as an inspiration for painting during my residence in Germany in 2018. I made drawings of half-timbered houses or Fachwerkhäuser, mainly in eastern Germany, in the Oberlausitz area. The wall surfaces of the buildings are divided into forms in which structural use and decorative effect meet. I returned to Germany the following year to deepen my understanding of the material.

Traditional half-timbered architecture in central Europe exhibits forms and divisions of space—combinations of diagonals and quadrangles, different variations of white and light coloured areas—that became my pictorial tools. Based on the architectural material that I collected, my paintings display points of convergence with many forms of visual expression employed in modern art. They also reflect the aspect of my personality that is playful and full of wonder.

The paintings represent imperfect systems that touch and are in dialogue with one another. These create the structure which is the result of observation and analysis. 

See also:

Wikipedia article of Timber-Framing

Artist Miika Nyyssönen’s residency trip to Eibau in Oberlausitz was supported by the Suomen Kulttuurirahasto (Finnish Cultural Foundation)

Response

  1. Merja Salonen Di Giorgio Avatar

    I like the way this series is inspired by architecture!

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