Marco Reichert
untitled
mixed media on cotton
78 x 59
x 1 in
Berlin-based Reichert is an emerging abstract painter who is challenging our ideas of what contemporary art is by using traditional painting techniques in conjunction with experimental “painting machines” to create multi-layered artworks. On the one hand, there is a classical pictorial methodology linked to materials and painting in the way we traditionally think of. On the other hand, there is an overtly technical-digital component through the construction of homemade machines as “robot designers” made by the artist himself. Reichert’s work is reflective of today’s society, a society that is increasingly dominated by computers and technology. We may like it or not, but technology’s influence on our everyday lives is undeniable.
Reichert uses a broad range of materials and imagery, both natural and technological in creating his bold and thought provoking work. His painting machines are integral to his presentation; each adheres to a programmed set of geometric rules and allows Reichert continuous access to the entire surface of the canvas. He first projects depth by the juxtaposition of paint and glue on the canvas. His machine then supplies the compositional counterparts. The work is planned out yet also capricious as it develops during the creative process, and each image is fundamentally tied to the elements utilized. There is a dichotomy between spontaneous touches of ink or acrylic, the use of a spray and brushstrokes freely chosen by the artist and the more calculated geometrical forms, with regular line and rhythms that inhabit the surface of the painting and that seem almost mechanical because they were obtained through the use of digital media.
Besides the actual paintings the most essential point of creating his works are the three-dimensional objects he builds which are not intentionally meant to be sculptures, they are tools within the painting process. The paintings and the three-dimensional structures are intrinsically tied to each other.
Before earning his Master degree in painting at the Kunsthochschule Berlin Weißensee, Berlin, he studied information technology at Humboldt University, also in Berlin. It was at Humboldt that he decided that IT wasn’t for him, so he pursued his passion in art. It was a natural progression to incorporate his background in technology and computers into his artwork.
