Vemo Hang – Im Seidenschatten
von Nathanaël R. Bartholomäus
(original in German)
Vemo Hang – Im Seidenschatten
Vemo Hang creates landscapes through which our imagination can float as if from a
cable car over the mountains. The ride begins and suddenly, kaleidoscopically, ever new
aspects come into view. What is outermost subsides inwards and what appears at the
forefront above us slips away below.
Formally it seems that it is precisely these moments that matter to the artist: the
interplay of layers and dimensions, the intertwining of heaven and earth, near and far. The
forms are not rigidly defined and can reveal, conceal, or interweave their visible shapes.
Thereby the concept of landscape can be construed as a classification that soon will
appear questionable to the observer. An interpretation always remains open, like a door
ajar, ready to enable a view that, even a moment earlier, could not be anticipated.
The motifs remain in ambiguity, alternating between energy and matter.
Simultaneously they form a interlaced structure that seems to seek equilibrium, a dynamic
harmony in which virtually all that is real or imaginable can be integrated: questioning and
recognition, knowledge and astonishment, tranquility and fright. Just as ambiguously,
these motifs connect the traditional, the modern and the utopian. All of these
interpretations are left to the observers, as if they should newly grasp all in which they
move with seeming trust in time and space.
The colors emphasize an effect of vagueness – of almost unreal tangibility –
because they do not appear “natural”. There is always something deliberately artificial in
them – no contrasts, rather variations on a strictly reduced palette. Indeed there are
modulations of a few colors, for instance, in the range from green to blue or hues derived
from red and ochre tones. The objective is not to build color contrasts, instead to convey in
subtle shades what would otherwise easily escape our attention. For this effect the artist
develops her own undercoatings through which the color penetrates more deeply into the
fabric. Thus an interplay of density and permeability makes everything appear more muted
and tranquil, as if seen through a silk cloth.
The artist consciously chooses a narrow vertical format in order to stretch the
space. The light changes the mood along with the daylight and the angle of incidence,
whether from above or the side. Here, too, the objectives are balance and harmony – in
the image, in the expression, but also even in accordance with the surroundings or the
living environment. These paintings impart an expanse of atmosphere, immersion, and
concentration such as we experience whenever we allow ourselves to be enchanted by a
composition that leads us into the stillness inside ourselves. One seems to hear faint
singing, the sound of bells and cymbals, accompaniment to a story told by each picture –
ever newly, differently, and more beautifully.