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.
Fachwerk Und 50
2020, oil & acrylic on canvas
Fachwerk Und 48
2020, oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm
Fachwerk Und 46
2020, oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm
Fachwerk Und 49
2020, oil on canvas, 43 x 65 cm
Fachwerk Und 45
oil & acrylic on canvas, 81 x 65 cm
Fachwerk Und 44
2020, acrylic, wood, aluminium, 26 x 266 x 9 cm
Fachwerk Und 43
2020, oil on canvas, 43 x 65 cm
Fachwerk Und 38
22020, gouache on paper
Fachwerk Und 37
2020, gouache on paper, 76 x 56 cm
Fachwerk Und 35
2020, gouache on paper, 76 x 56 cm
Fachwerk Und 33
2020, acrylic, wood, house paint on hardboard, 78 x 33 cm
Fachwerk Und 32
2020, acrylic, wood, house paint on hardboard, 78 x 33 cm
Fachwerk Und 31
2020, acrylic, wood, house paint on hardboard, 78 x 33 cm
Fachwerk Und 30 / Big Color 10
2020, oil on canvas, 120 x 180 cm
Fachwerk Und 29
2020, acrylic, gouache and colored pencil on paper, 56×76 cm
Fachwerk Und 28
2020, Gouache on paper, 76×56 cm
Fachwerk Und 26
2019, oil on canvas, diameter 21 cm
Fachwerk Und 25
2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 35 cm
Fachwerk Und 24
2020, oil and acrylic on canvas, 81 x 65 cm
Fachwerk Und 23
2020, oil and acrylic on canvas, 81 x 65 cm
Fachwerk Und 22
2020, acrylic on canvas, 81×65 cm
Fachwerk Und 21
2020, acrylic on canvas, 81 x 65 cm
Fachwerk Und 20
2019, oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm
Fachwerk Und 19.1 – 19.9
2020, felt – tip pen drawings, 21 x 29 cm each
Fachwerk Und 18
2020, acrylic on canvas, 84 x 111 cm or 111 x 84 cm ( The work can be viewed from any direction )
Fachwerk Und 17
2020, acrylic on canvas, 79×60 cm
Fachwerk Und 16
2020, acrylic on canvas, 80 x 60 cm
Fachwerk Und 15
2019, acrylic on canvas, 100×150 cm
Fachwerk Und 13
2019, oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm
Fachwerk Und 12
2019, oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm
Fachwerk Und 04
2019, watercolor on paper, 24 x 32 cm
Fachwerk Und 03
2019, oil on canvas, 39 x 61 cm
Fachwerk Und 02
2019, oil on canvas, 19 x 18,5 cm, private collection
Fachwerk Und 01
2018, oil on canvas, 19 x 27 cm
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)