CLEMENS WOLF

REPRESENTED ARTIST

Clemens Wolf (born in 1981 in Vienna) studied painting with Ursula Hübner at the University of Art and Design Linz.
In his artistic work, he deals with the capturing of irreproducible moments. At the beginning of this involvement stood the urban space with its ruins and fences. Wolf captured the beauty of decay and transience in large, monochrome landscape paintings.
Wolf has had exhibitions in China, Switzerland, France, Germany and the USA. He is represented internationally by several galleries and is part of renowned collections such as the Albertina Museum.

ARTWORKS

Expanded Metal Paintings Series

His The panel paintings "Expanded Metal Paintings" are the closest to the classic art of painting. Firstly paint is applied by a brush on a primed canvas. Then wire mesh is dunked into black and white paint and is used to create abstract patterns on top of the red and light grey areas. Similar to traditional blueprints with textiles, the wire mesh is moved across the canvas like a mold. Fingerprints remain as well as the redundant paint. The finished work bears a haptic sensation, the form resembles calligraphy: the surface's sensuality takes center stage.

Expanded Metal Pigment Paintings Series

For these paintings, Wolf uses expanded metal as a brush and thus creates abstract paintings. The irretrievable moment is found here in the expressive painting process. Also, he adds pigment powder onto these works which he calls “Expanded Metal Pigment Painting” as a reference to the process. The question of figuration and abstraction plays a central role in both groups of works.

Expanded Metal Tile Pigment Paintings Series

The panel paintings "Expanded Metal Tile Paintings" are the closest to the classic art of painting. Firstly glaze is applied by roller brush and a piece of expanded metal onto a block of 4 x 3 clay tiles. Similar as in traditional blueprint with textiles, the expanded is moved across the tiles like a mould. Then the composition drys for a couple of hours before getting fired at 850 degrees celcius. After around 12 hours of firing the tiles are taken out while still glowing and are put in sawdust for a couple of minutes. After cooled down in a wterbasin. This process is called Raku firing and turns the white clay into a magic black appearance. The fnished work bears a haptical sensation, the form resembles calligraphy: the surface's sensuality takes centre stage. The artist goal is a narrative between abstract and figurative painting. Due to our cognitive memory you can discover physical traces of the fence when going close to the work. If you look at it from distance the overlapping and gestural movement will created on the canvas show an abstract composition. Within this series Wolf realized already two lagre scale interior projects for clients. One was installed in a shower and one as wall piece between two balconies. The special approach of the artist allows him to scale his work in every size and due to his practice it always turns out to be a unique masterpiece.

Line Drawings Series

Clemens Wolf declares himself a champion of sensuality: 'I'm really interested in the process of transforming something trivial into a sensual object." The guided coincidence plays a major role in the making of the works. Clemens Wolf has learned to let things happen. His previous work has been stringent and precisely composed. The framed works "Line Drawings" are an example of the new era: ropes and strings dipped in epoxide resin are thrown against a piece of paper and are left to freeze in whatever composition they land in. Color splashes cover the picture: the hand's motion that has landed the rope is palpable and visible.