ANDREAS RICKENBACHER

Andreas Rickenbacher is an observer of matter. In his visual art, he succeeds in reflecting the physical and philosophical significance of matter. In the training for his first profession as a metalworker, he first of all developed an eye for, and an awareness of, physical matter, substance and mass. In 1985 Andreas Rickenbacher began to paint, having studied at the Schule für Gestaltung in Basel. From then onwards he also began to analyse the philosophical definition of matter as spirit, form and the idea of things which constitute the world, and he reflects this in his art.

His artistic production comprises three main themes, which he elaborates continually: mountain landscapes, the hulls of ships and still lifes. The two works offered here at auction are typical examples of these subjects: his ship motifs are often fragments of gigantic tanker hulls. He presents the large metal surfaces which have been marked by the powers of nature, through rust, decay and discolouration. The materials of iron and steel undergo an organic transformation in the course of time and are directly linked with the idea of a spiritual being, which has taken form, and with the idea of transience. His mountain and rock landscapes radiate the powerful, voluminous, almost immovable presence of the earth, which serves as a counterbalance to the surrounding pure materials such as water (in the frozen mountain lake) and the pure, clear air of the mostly radiant blue sky. The third theme, is that of the still life. As in a stage set, Andreas Rickenbacher places everyday objects next to one another, to create an ensemble which tells a story.

His stunning, true to scale and realistic technical precision is inspired by the Realists and the Classical still lifes of the 17th – 19th centuries, which have always fascinated Rickenbacher. To execute his pictures he transfers his draft photographs or sketches onto the large format canvases and so these realistic, densely packed works are created.