​ARTIST STATEMENT​



Marsden Hartley dubbed it “mountain madness.” I do have mountain madness like Paul (Cezanne) and Georgia (O’Keefe). Painting mountains means climbing mountains for one reason—because they are there! Because one is never finished, there are always new angles and vistas, different horizons and planes and a different light. And the mountain is also a metaphor … Painting mountains is related to calligraphy which is simultaneously sign and symbol. How much can I reduce the composition without loosing the message? Clouds and rain are neither decoration nor representation. I use silhouettes and pencil zig and zag to get movement. There is therefore no good reason for the illusion of a three-dimensional space on a  flat piece of paper---the space is in between the marks.

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Norbert Voelkel

Norbert Voelkel

Exhibit in 2016 in planning