Mi aim is to develop new perspectives within realism and to communicate my fascination with nature. The interpretation of reality and its perception are the result of a long tradition, and each epoch imposes the challenge for a new aesthetic and spiritual interpretation that leads humanity towards a new period of cultural expression.
I try to bring a and specific form of spiritual and aesthetic content into the so called realistic painting expression in order to show my personal investigation towards what can not be seen but only felt. It is my believe that creative intent or in other words, the spiritual or invisible part of an Art work are as important as the visible and technical part.
Reality is the territory where dreams are born, and dreams are a filled with symbols. Symbols help to express and create feelings, they connect the conscious with the subconscious. The emotion experienced by he observation of an Art work is induced through the use of symbols,cultural references, colour, composition, and the choice of the depicted theme. The theme of my paintings is the painting itself. All my paintings show the mystery in the perception of live, they are the expression of its complexity, and the constant search for a way of showing the structure of the invisible.
A work of Art beholds time, and from its silence, emotion takes our spirit into infinite directions. To paint a theme from the observation of reality is taking it out from the stream of time and make it still, until our feelings bring it to life again. My paintings do not determine anything, they are not telling any story other than the observation of our world with all its mysteries. Nor is my work "hyperrealistic". I have no interest whatsoever in painting "photographs". Every square inch of my paintings contains my aesthetic decisions and contributes to the final balance of the work. What distinguishes painting from photography or other expressions that involve technological procedures is the direct and physical tranmission from the spirit into the material. Creativity rearranges the chaos of perceived information into images that through their harmony and balance create a stillnes where the structure of the Universe can be felt.
Art, Philosophy or the freedom of thinking are synonimous in essence as are truth and beauty. Only Art is capable of transcending a personal exerience into a universal truth.
What I consider a well painted painting shows a perfect balance between light and dark, pure and unpure colour, peace and conflict. Opposite forces create a tension and transmit the original message of intent. To be creative is to dance around the center. The gesture carries the emotion.
Painting technique does not interest me at all. What interests me is the possibility of creating a window into lifes mystery and to materialize my feelings. My paintings are a link between mind and matter.
Besides painting I also create experimental electronic music, videos and digital photography. These are different forms of expression with their own creative challenges, they allow an experimentation that increase our aesthetic references and create a new way of perceiving our world.
Alwin van der Linde Madrid, 2009