Yesterday we hit up Pulse Contemporary Art Fair at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. Every year I look forward to discovering new artists, acquiring cutting edge pieces, and celebrating contemporary art with fellow art lovers. Pulse’s annual events in Miami and NYC support international galleries, they provide a platform to cultivate growth and expansion through their thoughtfully curated exhibitions.
One of the first artists to catch my eye was Johannes Domenig, from Galerie Frey in Austria. Domenig’s “Timbre” series beautifies objects that many people no longer considered useful, throughout history perceptions of beauty have dramatically changed. He takes natural, archeological objects and transforms them into sculpture and mixed media pieces. His use of gold gilt civilizes cast away objects while symbolizing human existence in many ways: beauty and tragedy, light and dark, eternity and death.
People’s opinions are ever changing and it’s human nature to seek perfection when measuring beauty. The media has taken our innate desire to achieve perfect beauty to an extreme through the manipulation of images, they know how to monetize products through psychology and imagery. At first glance something can appear beautiful, triggering our shallow vanity, however if we take a moment to think we have the opportunity to see deeper. Many people are fooled by the emphasis on external beauty and ultimately never find inner fulfillment. The media and large corporations exploit this part of human nature for profit, if you allow them to penetrate your outer shell you may be swayed by their unrealistic expectations of beauty.
Chaos contracts time, it distracts you from seeing what is real. When we slow down we can see, we have clarity, time expands. Being present creates instantaneous order, this order is interweaved into Domenig’s work through structure. Time stands still when we think, when we immerse ourselves in the moment, time become just a concept.
Domenig’s multi-faceted refinement of the bark through his use of gold, silver, and mineral oil iconifies the fusion of the organic and the inorganic. He creates artistic icons that are natural, ones that symbolize natures timeless beauty. Nature is powerfully beautiful, if it was manipulated to appear perfect would it really be perceived as the highest form of beauty? Or is that the eternal quest that ultimately leads us to disappointment. If you strip off the gold veneer what are you left with? Beautifully flawed tree bark, if your take away the photo shop you are left with a beautifully flawed person, if you remove judgement you are left with acceptance, if you remove hate you are left with love.
Timelessness is what Domenig’s work is about, timeless objects, timeless beauty, timeless reflection of our highest form of beauty – ourselves. Take the time to think, to discover what is behind the gilt, to get inside and to go inside. The duality of nature and civilization is depicted in patina and vanity throughout his work, representing the age old struggle; how we are perceived by others and who we truly are behind our golden coats. We are one with nature and we are all uniquely beautiful.
GOLD
Gilded in a shield of gold
Protecting my authentic passion
Rebelling against the status quo
Personal style is my passion
Golden coat, reflecting beams of light
Obstructing reality, quick glance
Shining in the sun, appearing bright
Timelessness always, not by chance
Sunny days warm my soul
Nature flowing through me
Golden gilt glows inside
My eyes see deeply
Perfect harmony, flawed beauty
Radiant inner self
Golden mirror reflecting warmth
Harmonious humanity
~Miss Kiss~
