a famous but also unknown, hermit monk artist

My doppelganger, alter ego with the same name as me...

https://youtu.be/ASdLSgaak2I

MANY MORE IMAGES here https://goo.gl/g1xOLv
https://youtu.be/ASdLSgaak2IMy doppelganger, alter ego with the same name as me...



MANY MORE IMAGES here https://goo.gl/g1xOLv




In-depth chat with inspiring painter Ulrich de Balbian

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Who is Ulrich de Balbian and what do you do?

I am in my sixties, born of a German mother and Dutch-French father.

I lived and studied in a number of countries, including Great Britain, France, Germany and
Spain.I have doctorates in Philosophy and Theology and qualifications in Social Science
and Fine Art.When i was young I did sociological research
in South Africa, so I know certain areas, of this vast and very diverse (culturally and
geographically) country.I worked as an academic (philosophy, art
and world religions) so that I did not have to be dependent on the Art Industry for a living.

Through philosophy I reflected deeply on many aspects of existence, including culture
and more specially art, and the Western painting genre.

I specify Western as it is very different from the painting traditions from Asia, China,
India, Arabic countries, etc.

As social scientist and philosopher (I published fifteen books in that discipline, two
in theology and others) researched socio-cultural aspects of art , for example the
code of the discourse or socio-cultural; practice of Western Painting.

As well as the Art Industry and Market. Many people interested in art and artists do not
realize that the centre of the Art Market has shifted from the West (1) US, 2) UK, 3)
France, 4) Germany) to Asia (1)China, 2)Taiwan, 3)Hong Kong, 4) Korea,
5)Singapore). Major Art Fairs and Biennales are held in those countries and Private
Collectors built their own museums, as there used to be few national
museums as in the west. Those private museum collections can compare with the best national
Museums in the West.

I mention the art Market and Industry as I question the traditional system of commercial
galleries, auctions and the influence of billionaire collectors on the price of works of
art. I am a maverick and rebel as far as these things are concerned
and i am not allowing them to control my type of work. Too many artists, similar to the
rest of the popular entertainment industry, felt the need to
produce sensational work, so as to be noticed. I never was dependent on the art
industry as I had other spruces of income as academic. I retired at forty
from that so as to work full time on my art, and writing.

I have studios in South Africa, Spain and France.



How would you define your style or art?

The lengthy introduction above had a serious point. I wished to show that I question all
aspects of art, and especially painting. I intentionally choose to paint, in the Western
tradition, instead of working in the so-called New Media, creating
installations, performance art, ready made, etc. I think and hope that there still is
mileage in the Western tradition of painting.

I see my work as totally experimental and a kind of serious research. Not merely in a
cerebral or rational manner, but first of all on a sub-conscious level, exploring how
we think about objects, how we perceive them, etc

I work piecemeal, something like Wittgensteinian philosophers, exploring every detail
of the process of painting, bit by bit. Each of these bits are developed into a series of paintings.

I do not have one single style, but gradually discovered that I unintentionally work in series
(of 2, 3, 4, 5, etc). The only other artist I have come across who works in this manner is the
German Gerhard Richter. If someone wishes to understand my work better they should study his
work (as well as Paul Klee, Kandinsky and the ideas of the Bauhaus) as he is my predecessor.
I do not follow or copy him, but work in the same tradition as he, and they, did.

It appears as if I do not have one single style and that my work – the different series –
is merely random, but this is not the case. The larger picture will reveal that my entire
work form one unit, in other words the seemingly random aspects, as in Chaos Theory,
will be shown to make more sense in the totality.

Given all the above, my questioning of all aspects of the discourse or socio-cultural
tradition of painting, the manner in which our minds (thinking, perception, etc), emotions
and trial consciousness operates – leads to what I termed New Styles, a style beyond one
and all styles.

My work has a deeply spiritual side. Not in the narrow meaning of the word as forming
part of a particular religion, but as tuning into the Ground or basis of existence of
human beings, the earth and the entire Universe. Or rather the many universes or
multi-verse, as scientists are expressing it.

All this might appear to be very abstract, but painting and the process of painting
is something totally concrete. But, by means of paint, brushes, etc I attempt to
arrive more and more at the (he)art of Creation, the underlying Ground or basis of
all of Creation, of the building blocks of the Universe. This has many similarities
to the research of scientists of phenomena that are not visible to the human eye,
but that can only be thought in complex mathetical formulae. By means of painting I
make Visible that what is until that moment, Invisible to usual human thinking.
Most people think in a dualistic manner (because they are socialized like that),
but the non-dual way tells us that the subject who perceives, the object that is
perceived and the process of perception is ONE whole (all religions, contemplatives
and those who meditate attempt to arrive at this non-dual, direct way of perceiving,.
or of being one/d with that what is perceived).

I express the above like this in the context of looking at my work:

The human mind treats smaller paintings as if it is looking AT an object or a
thing such as a table or chair.

But larger works are experienced (like installations) as if one is part of
them and participate in them.

Now that you know this please do not treat these images as if they are just
more objects or things you look AT, but experience and participate in them.

I always express what I think abstractly in this kind of very concrete manner.
And, by this simple example the point of all my seemingly abstract talk suddenly
comes together as something very concrete, and thereby shows that matter (concrete
painting and the stuff a painting is made of) and the spirit (ual) is one –
merely two different ways of looking at the same thing. Two perspectives on

the same thing, like the two sides of a coin, or looking at a house from the front,

the back, the sides, above. All the different points of view contribute to one thing.
In the tradition of Abstract painting, Braque, Picasso and others tried to express this
unity of many perspectives in a certain manner. I explore and express or do it in
a different way.





What inspires your work?
I am first of all a painter for the sake of the Western tradition of painting. By
this I mean, if it were not for certain painters who existed before me and explored
and developed this tradition of painting, I would not have been able to think the way
I do, and explore the process of painting in the manner I am doing. I form part of
this tradition. To feel part of this tradition is what inspires me to paint – over
and over again. As Richter said: one must be passionate about doing this stupid
thing of being all alone most of the time because if one were not passionate about
it, then for adults to play around with paint, colours, etc would be nothing but mere idiocy.

I paint because I must, I cannot not do it – like some people need to eat, drink, drive
very fast, I must paint. The last part of why is because, I paint for the handful;
of serious painters of every generation or century who also feel obliged
to paint. Therefore, first of all I paint for a few other members of the discourse or
the interpersonal (intersubjective) community of artists or painters,
especially those who are yet unborn. If I could add anything to the discourse of
painting, explore, question, modify and develop its interpersonal code,
then my life had some meaning. Of course, I cannot judge this and it will only be
seen more clearly, what and if anything, I did contribute to this discourse.
I suppose I, like all serious artists, have a certain aesthetic ideal and vision,
and that will be expressed as my work. If it is the case that anyone else
find anything in any of my work, well – that always astonish me. That is the cherry
on top of all the being alone, doubts, questionings, searches, and so on.

I think something does happen in or through my work, because I have come across a number of people who react with: stunning, it pulls me endlessly into it; I must look at it over and over again. That is what a good painting always did to me. I had to look at a Klee, Twombly, and Richter etc, over and over again, and again return to look at it.

It is as if one is hypnotized by it, one’s mind is blown away, one experiences or
‘sees’, something, perhaps like the first day of the creation of the universe,
like first seeing one’s newborn baby – a bundle of massive potentials — for good,
bad, or whatever.

You are about to take off to the USA, why are you going there and what lead to this?
Someone entered a few of my works for a competition called ‘Artists Wanted’. If one
were to receive more than 777 “likes” one progress to the next round. In a few
weeks my site – http://monkagain.artistswanted.org/atts2012 – received more
than a 1000 visits and the necessary number of ‘likes’. The work of the winner
will be shown on the gigantic billboard at Times Square, New York. I am
now through to the final round and my work, with the work of other finalists will
be shown at a VIP party on bright LED screens (9 ft x 12 ft) located on
Broadway and 43rd Street. The Times Square Billboard Premier Event will consist
of a number of famous US singers and groups.

I will also be visiting two museums who wish to acquire my work.

What are you currently working on?
Like, every day – putting the last series behind me, and feeling my way, completely
open-minded, into the beginning of another series. Until I begin another series, I
am a bundle of dynamite fuse that has been lit, and that must find some
way to explode – like racehorse permanently at the beginning of a race.

What advice would you give young creatives looking to do what you do?
It is a very, very lonely road, do not do it for any external rewards. I do not
mean students who attend Art School with the purpose to obtain a degree, so as
to get work, but those few who realize that they must work in some area of art,
they have almost no choice in the matter – it is as if one is driven on. This
is both a curse and the greatest joy – to end up in the middle of creating
something that did not exist before, a new vision of the world, always nearer
to the art, the heart of Creation, the act of creating, but never close enough,
yet. Because, when one has finished, one must start all over again. In other
words: be prepared for work, endless work, and always questioning what you have
done and what you are doing. It is something very mundane, totally concrete,
and forget about glory, fame and other rewards – those things are short lived
and pass quickly.

Where can our readers follow your work?

I mostly place my work on online galleries, as that requires little time. I no
longer have time or an interest in spending a lot of time to organize an
exhibition, and online galleries reach the entire planet instantly –

My work can be seen here:

www.newstylesgallery.info

www.gallerygoodman.com

and

http://www.artmajeur.com/?go=pages/top/list_artists_top100



Find me on FACEBOOK and TWITTER

A few people have recently made videos of some of my work for YOU TUBE –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD7tC8Hmjpk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Hfo1UsSL58

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW7b72aRj94



print

Artists WantedBraquePicassoTimes Square Billboard PremierUlrich de Balbian


SA Creatives



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June 9, 2015


7 Comments

Reply June 19, 2012
+Pablo Manuel

Sr. de Balbian uses the colours in the most “sorprendente” style.
I’ve never seen such mixture of colours in perfect harmony.
He is the best modern painter of our generation.
Good luck, dear Ulrich
+Pablo Manuel
Reply August 31, 2012
myra erickson

This was a fabulous interview with spectacular pix…the 3 dimensionality of the
paintings was great. the paintings leaped off the picture plane. thankyou so much
for sharing..i am glad to see such wonderful talent here on art on google.
Never stop creating!
Reply November 24, 2012
cecilia du toit

dear ulrich
nice to have read about you you seem very much interested in both the cosmos and
micro cosmos that is how i see your work an inspirational reading for you would be
pythagoras to wake the mathematical mind…great work regards cecilia from namibia
Reply July 13, 2013
Ulrich de Balbian – Interview with images | ulrichdebalbian

[…] http://sacreativenetwork.co.za/2012/06/in-depth-chat-with-inspiring-painter-ulrich-de-balbian/ […]
Reply July 26, 2013
Olga Baudilia Peralta

Urich de Bailan, muy buenas obras en cuanto a armonía en el uso del color,
.distribución en el espacio y , movimiento, en varias obras. Gracias –
Reply September 20, 2013
K53 learners test

Great..
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Ulrich de Balbian |
SA CREATIVES.
They have already been extremely effective. I really enjoyed
browsing your write-up..
Reply May 27, 2014
Kleber Auad

I like that. Amazing, Wonderous and Blissful colors