Category Archives: Painting

Intervention Against Tasteless Wall Decorations in Hotels and Holiday Apartments.(Part 2)

In a previous blog post (A Confession) I have confessed to my urge to improve boring or ugly wall decorations in hotels or holiday apartments. Today I am sharing another similar intervention with you, before I am leaving for a short holiday at the Baltic Sea. And who knows, maybe our bungalow there is also in need of some artistic intervention? If so, you will find out about it on my blog – so, if you have not already done it, subscribe to my blog to receive notifications when I post something new.

Intervention Against Tasteless Wall Decorations in Hotels and Holiday Apartments.(Part 2)
Intervention gegen geschmacklose Wanddekoration in Hotelzimmern und Ferienwohnungen.(Teil 2)

Background: Since 2010 I have secretly been slightly altering tasteless or boring hotel or holiday apartment art whenever I had the chance to.

Title: Appearance of a Woman

Date: July 2012, Location: a holiday apartment somewhere in Vítkovice, Czech Republic.
Medium: Acrylic and pen on found decorative print on wood

: The ‘Before’ picture of a commercial flower print as found in the holiday apartment

The holiday apartment had two exactly the same decorative commercial art prints in the bedrooms. How thoughtless and boring is that? With apologies to the original artist, I thought at least one should be more exciting than just flowers and squares. So this is how it looks now:

: Altered artwork

: Busy with letting the woman appear on the flower print.

: View of the room with the altered artwork

: Explanation and apology text which I have added to the back of the work – just in case somebody thinks of looking there.

Text added by me on the back of the artwork:

Congratulations!

You have noticed that this decoration is not your average horror experience of cheap so-called art prints, but a more stimulating and interesting mutation thereof. Such bad and soulless pictures cause an allergic reaction with me, which manifests in colours, lines and picturesque alterations.

I hope you can understand and forgive me and that you can find joy and a fresh curiosity and appreciation for true creativity and real thought-provoking , interesting and exciting original art.

Yours sincerely, Imke Rust

Exhibition to end gender based violence

Exhibition opening: 27 June @18h00, National Art Gallery of Namibia

BangBang

BangBang (Acrylic on hardboard, box-framed, 40 x 35cm by Imke Rust)

“BangBang” is a colourful, lighthearted and quirky artwork, open to interpretation. To me it speaks about the dance of love and relationships and their shadow sides, such as the often invisible power-struggles and emotional violence happening within relationships or stigmatization directed against gay people.

The dance of love (or any relationship) needs awareness, mutual respect and sensitivity. If we do not have that, the world seems upside down and we are spinning helplessly in a cycle of unconsciousness, leading to hurt and pain (or in the worst case violence).

Lets dance with each other in the beautiful consciousness that in each of us is a divine soul that needs to be acknowledged and nurtured.

The work is for sale. If you like it, why not come over to the National Art Gallery and buy it? 🙂

I am happy to announce that my artwork has been selected for the exhibition UNITE to End Gender Based Violence. It will be on show, amongst several other great artworks by Namibian artists, at the National Art Gallery of Namibia from the 28th of June till the 2nd of August 2013.

Don’t miss the opening, which takes place on the 27th of June 2013 at 18h00. Namibia’s First Lady, Madam Penehupifo Pohamba will be the keynote speaker. Unfortunately gender based violence is on the increase in our society and a pressing and disturbing problem which needs to be addressed. I hope that this exhibition can play an active role in making us aware that this issue concerns each of us and help us to find solutions.

If you are in Windhoek please come and see the exhibition and show your support for this important matter.

Unite to End Gender Based Violence Exhibition Poster

Barter Buzz – exchanging art

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Tauschrausch

Blogging makes you meet all kinds of interesting artists and fellow bloggers – at least virtually. Recently I have read about an initiative by the artist collective Theo: Tauschrausch (German for something like barter buzz) and decided to participate.

I love the idea of exchanging artworks instead of selling them. Exchanging my artworks for services or goods produced by somebody else, or alternative for artworks from fellow artists is such a cool idea, although not always that easy.

Theo has a offered a collection of their handmade cards and I decided to present them with the postcards of my recent land art works.

The deal was done and I received the most beautifully packaged edition of postcards:

Beautifully packaged postcards by Theo

Postcards by Theo – old fashioned black & white collage style – very cool

Thank you very much Theo! One cannot find a more beautiful excuse to take up a fountain pen, write an art postcard and send it of into the world…. (or on second thoughts maybe just to just keep them all to myself 😉 )

Have a look at more of Theo’s work here and find out who they are.

And more exchanges…

I could never really afford luxury things, such as dying my hair. So when my hairdresser told me that she just loves my artwork, but cannot afford to buy it, we quickly decided that we can fix two problems in one go with exchanging art for beautiful cuts and amazing colours. Following is one of several works, which I have exchanged with my wonderful and very talented hair dresser (Heidi from Heidi’s Hair Studio) in Windhoek.

Yin & Yang from the ‘wo-man’ series (Ink on rice paper, 70 x 70cm by Imke Rust) © Imke Rust

Stunning colours and cuts by my favourite hairdresser in return

I received this 2-piece artwork by Bremen artist Edeltraut Rath in return for one of my dog images from the Power & Politics Series in 2006:

Untitled by Edeltraut Rath from Bremen

The two painted wooden blogs are just beautiful and can be hung or displayed standing in a variety of ways. I just love the warm and sunny colours. (unfortunately the photograph is not the best)

It would be great if we could exchange real things and services with each other more often, instead of using money as a form of payment!

Tell me – have you exchanged or bartered things before or could you imagine doing it? And what was exchanged for what? Did you experience any problems or wonderful surprises? I would love to know more stories about this.

Wishing you a great week!

Works sold in aid of the SPCA and Cat Protection Society

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Two of my older works about the human-canine relationship as a metaphor for power relations on a personal, social and political level, have been sold as part of an auction to raise money for the local SPCA and Cat Protection Society.

I am excited to be able to help in a small way and support the great work these organizations are doing. And we are working on another idea of selling some more of my works depicting dogs and cats via Facebook. So soon you could hopefully become the owner of one of my works and at the same time doing something good for all the homeless pets out in Windhoek. I will keep you posted.
Till then you can see the two works which were sold already:

My Best Friend ©Imke Rust
Digital Print on Paper, A2, Edition of 5

Lonely Dog in Blue ©Imke Rust
Acrylic and digital print on paper
60x60cm
2002

Wishing you and your best friend a happy day!

A rare chance to view my older works in Windhoek

Hand-coloured Photographs Making a Powerful Statement

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Chemical Reaction (Namib Desert) © Imke Rust

Recently I have invited you all to come to an exhibition of a selection of photographs which were submitted to the “Our Coast Your Photo” Competition, which was on show in Windhoek and Swakopmund.

Initially I was informed that I was one of the finalists, but then at the opening it turned out that the judges did not think that hand-coloured photographs are photographs but are art, and therefore my works were not considered for the actual prizes. A detailed discussion of this decision would be interesting, considering that hand-colouring photographs is a technique used in photography for almost as long as we have photography itself, but maybe I leave that for another time or for the comments.

For now, I am happy to say that the organizers did think that my work still deserved a “special mention for making a powerful statement. … Rust managed to convey a message of “pretty promises” made by industrialists that paint a pretty picture, while the result would actually be unnatural – and even detrimental to the environment.” (quoted from The Namibian, 2 April 2012, pg7). The special mention came with a small financial prize and a bottle of unpolluted Namibian sea water – which I thought was a very nice touch in line with the background of the exhibition. It might become a rarity soon, but I hope not!

Here are the works which I have submitted for those of you who were not able to see them in person.

Toxic Flow (Swakop River)
© Imke Rust, Digital Photograph

Toxic Waste (Moon Valley) © Imke Rust

About the works:

“My entries are hand-coloured photographs of Swakopmund’s surrounding environment.

The idea came while I was in Berlin and was hearing about the planed chemical works that might be built near Swakopmund. I looked at my photographs of Swakopmund and its surrounding area which I took earlier in the year and wondered what it will look like should the chemical plant be build with all its toxic waste and side effects. I also thought of the “pretty promises” that are made of all the wonderful things (like job creation) such developments would bring Namibians. What at first glance might look pretty and interesting might turn out to be really dangerous, and we are not really aware of how far-reaching the negative effects might be. The colourful interventions on the photographs, give a striking and ‘pretty’ effect, but also allude to the chemical and toxic interference with nature.

We are so used to see really good photographs of the Namibian environment and we often taken our environment for granted. That is why I decided to make some physical and ‘chemical’ interventions in bright and ‘unnatural’ acrylic (plastic) colours to the photographs. I hope this artificial, tampered view, makes people sit up and notice and think about what they are seeing and want to see.”

The exhibition is still up in Swakopmund at “The Art Gallery” in the Brauhaus Arcade till the end of April. According to that gallery it is one of their most visited exhibitions to date. So, if you are in Swakopmund, do take some time to go and see all the finalists work (and mine 😉 ) if you enjoy photography, art and our beautiful coast!

Oh, and I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject: is photography art and is art photography? Should a hand-coloured photograph be judged differently than a photoshopped one, or an 100% untouched one? Let me know what you think…

A(nother) Scream

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“The Scream” by Edvard Munch is up for sale at Sotheby’s in New York. If you have not started saving loooong ago and been earning a ridicules salary, or recently inherited vast sums of money, you will most likely not be able to afford the U$ 80 million price tag on this one.

What I find particularly interesting is that “The Scream” is not your usual “pretty picture” which would sit comfortably above your dining table. It is angst-ridden and full of paranoia… not pretty, but honest, and because it seems as if it came straight from the heart, it also touches our souls in a deep and sometimes disturbing way. It lays bare our vulnerabilities and fears, which we usually hide behind a façade of prettiness (pretty clothes, pretty make-up, and pretty deco in our pretty homes….). Maybe its strength lies in reminding us that we are intensely alive and human, even in the mediocre, materialistic and semi-comatose rat-race which we have created for ourselves. We all can identify with it, and, even if only for a short time, it changes our perceptions and gets our primal instincts roaring. At least that is how I feel.

There are two reasons, why I am sharing this with you today. One is that I have often heard the following said about my own art: “Wow, this work is so powerful and interesting, but I do not want to buy it, as it would be too depressing to hang above my couch (or in my dining room)”. Granted, those who know my art well, agree that many of my works are not easy to live with because of their powerful content or expression. I totally understand that.

I am very fortunate that I work in such a wide variety of styles and subject matter that many different tastes and needs are catered for and my artworks are hanging in homes all over the world. And quite a few of my more socio-political and ‘disturbing’ works have also found appreciation and buyers. So all I am saying, if an artwork touches you but is not pretty in the traditional sense, maybe you can buy it anyway. You do not need to put it up in your living room. You can keep it somewhere where you can contemplate it every now and then and where it can be kept save as a possible investment for your grand-children. Art investments generally bring good returns, if you are patient and lucky – after all, not all artists are Munch or Picasso, but you would usually only find out after we are dead.

Secondly, recently I have made my own version of “The Scream” which I wanted to share with you. It is based on a press-image that I have found several years ago (I think it was from the Iraq war) and on Munch’s painting. It is titled “A(nother) Scream”.

A(nother) Scream by Imke Rust (c) Mixed Media on Canvas 29x41cm

Sorry, this work is already reserved for an interested buyer, but if you like to have an option on it, drop me a line. Munch has made four different versions of “The Scream”; so, in case you are interested, I would be happy to make a personal version of “A(nother) Scream” for you.

Or browse my webpage for getting an impression of the other artworks I have available – you might just find something worth investing in 🙂 .

Hero Dogs

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Hero Dogs 1© Imke Rust 2003 Collage 20x19cm

Not many people know the little series of “Hero Dogs” which I have made several years back.

These works were made in honour of the dogs we humans use to save people’s lives in so many ways, especially when disaster has struck or to prevent crimes etc. and who are seldom acknowledged for their brave and wonderful work.

Somehow the works have never been on exhibition before, and I never had good enough images of them to share them by other means. They are old, but still very special to me, and after a friend expressed her interest in them (thank you, Jutta) I thought I will scan them and share them with you today.

Enjoy!

Hero Dogs 2 © Imke Rust 2003 Collage 20x19cm

Hero Dogs 3 © Imke Rust 2003 Collage 20x19cm

Hero Dogs 4 © Imke Rust 2003 Collage 20x19cm

Hero Dogs 5 © Imke Rust 2003 Collage 20x19cm

Hero Dogs 6 © Imke Rust 2003 Collage 20x19cm

… and YES, they are for sale 🙂

Group exhibition and Open Studio Days in Berlin

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Untitled, Acrylic on Canvas, 50x40cm

Dear friends, (Deutsche Version unten)

If you are in Berlin at the end of November, you have two opportunities to see (and buy 😉 ) my art. This will be the last chance for a while to see my art publicly in Berlin, as I will soon go home to Namibia for a few months at the beginning of 2012.

Firstly I would like to invite you to come to the Group exhibition “Jahresendausstellung” in the Grafik Galerie Neumann on the 25th of November at 17h00 (Rigaer Str 62).

Secondly I will open the doors of my studio to the public during the Open Studio Days in Pankow, so you are welcome to visit me in my studio, see my latest works and have a chat about art and life with me.

Open Studio Days:

Saturday, 26th of November, 13h00 – 20h00

Sunday, 27th of November, 13h00 – 18h00

Address:

Prenzlauer Promenade 149-152

Raum 522 (5ter Stock)

Busstop: Treskowstrasse Bus 255

There is plenty of parking spaces directly in front of the building, for those coming with their cars.

A visit to the studio days will pay off twice, as in addition to my humble studio and art, many more artists in the building are participating and opening their studio doors to the public. So plan to come with some time.

I am looking forward to your visit and support!

Deutsch:

Liebe Freunde und Bekannte,

Demnaechst gibt es nochmal zwei Moeglichkeiten meine Kunst in Berlin zu sehen (und natuerlich auch zu erwerben 😉 ) und es wird vorerst das letzte Mal sein bevor ich dann im Januar wieder fuer 3 Monate nach Namibia gehe:

1. Gerne moechte ich euch zu der Eroeffnung der Gruppenausstellung “Jahresendausstellung” in der Grafik Galerie Neumann, am Freitag den 25sten November 2011 um 17h00 (Rigaer Str 62) einladen, in der unter anderen auch meine Werke ausgestellt sind.

2. Zuesaetzlich gibt es auch noch die Moeglichkeit, waehrend der Tage des offenen Ateliers in Pankow, mich in meinem Atelier zu besuchen, einen kleinen Einblick in meine aktuellen Arbeiten zu bekommen und natuerlich auch ganz in Ruhe Gespraeche ueber die Kunst und das Leben zu fuehren.

Offenes Atelier:

Samstag, 26 November, von 13h00 bis 20h00

Sonntag, 27 November 13h00 bis 18h00

Adresse:

Prenzlauer Promenade 149-152

Raum 522 (5ter Stock)

Bushaltestelle: Treskowstrasse Bus 255

Vor dem Haus gibt es viele Parkplaetze, fuer diejenigen die mit dem Auto kommen.

Der Besuch im Atelier (und zum Teil die weite Anfahrt) lohnt sich gleich doppelt, da viele andere Kuenstler im Hause auch ihre Tueren fuer die Besucher oeffnen und ihr also neben meiner Kunst und mir, gleich noch viele andere, interessante Kunst sehen koennt.

Ich freue mich, wenn ihr zu einem oder sogar beiden der Gelegenheiten kommen koennt!

Ich freue mich auf euren Besuch und Unterstuetzung!