Period 1: The Search (1960 - 1970)

Processing impressions from the context in which I was living and realising the potential of the arts was an integral part of my identity, especially as an artist in post-war Vienna.

I belonged to an era in which new perspectives, evolving with the Space Age, the PSI-Age and the New Age, offered fresh hope to humanity. During this time I was introduced, through Ernst Fuchs, to the “Old Masters” painting technique, which acted subtley as a catalyst in the development of my own painting techniques.

As a seeker, I explored themes that manifested along my way: “man is a mystery”, “man is a dreamer”, “man is a beast”, “man is on a stage”, “man is a puppet”, “man is a robot”, “man is a split being” (Berlin Wall), “man is empty”.

My move to rural Switzerland in 1968 made me intimate with the power of nature. The smooth, synthetic surfaces, characteristic of the urban paradigms that defined my perception of life, were replaced by textures of raw stone, meadows and forests. The primal world that opened up before me radically, shifted my perspective and heightened my awareness. It provided a place where I could look for ideas that had the strength to expand consciousness, to illuminate like “lightningbolts” and to surprise with cosmic insights.