Gerhard Rasser

For many years Gerhard Rasser occupied himself with different techniques of art, including oil- aquarelle- and pastel- painting as well as graphic styles, Chinese ink painting, and calligraphy. He especially likes one of the ideas from Chinese tradition: to understand emptiness as a room. The combination of different techniques is characteristic of his pictures. Frequently Gerhard Rasser creates a lot of little worlds of illusion, in which the observer is invited to take a close look. Often the humans recognizable as silhouettes are on a search. Birds play a major role. They both stalk us from above and remind us of the absolute freedom that we will never achieve. The sun too has two meanings: sometimes it appears as a warming and hopeful element in this setting reminding us of our fugacity and then again it seems cold and distant, a bit like stuck. Trees as well are on the one hand a symbol of life, on the other one of fugacity, especially when they are pictured only with their torso, like a skeleton. His work is supposed to make people think and pause just like my themes melancholy, fugacity, threat, loneliness, desire, and hope – all very emotional topics. Once a friend of his characterized his work as follows: “Your pictures always tell a story and hold a secret.” ... and that’s his intention.