Dr. Fuck a lot in the mountations“If the history of painting were to be compared to the rising and falling levels of ground water then Oliver Blum is a gigantic puddle. I will go even further. Oliver Blum is the Lord Mayor of painting, the Pollock of the underground, an animal, the root of all evil, the best of all”. (Albert Oehlen)
With a new artist and the upcoming Exhibit - Echzeitmalerei opening in September in Cologne - the Hardhitta Gallery is venturing out into new territories: contemporary painting. Oliver Blum, the newest Hardhitta, is a German painter and a former student of the renowned contemporary artist Albert Oehlen at the Kunstakademie Duesseldorf. His paintings shed light on the journey of self-exploration, freeing oneself from artistic norms and provocation that rises from within.
“Maybe my pictures are psychograms, images of my state of mind, spontaneously grown self-portraits in the end. However, the images do what they want anyway, they lure me into the unknown, a land of the creative, of uncertainties and into a world of surprises. Each of these images starts as an absolute blind flight, ending in great results that are able to speak for themselves.” (Oliver Blum)
After many years of taking a step back from the art world, Blum returns with new inspiration and with a newfound freedom from the conventions of the arts. Through this space, he was able to start reconnecting to his own feelings as his driving force and was able to discover his artistic expression by “daring to go into the blue and being positively surprised by what comes out.” He sees his art as a mirror image and tangible expression of what is happening within - and thus, every painting depends on his own open-mindedness and allowing himself to connect to the flow of his art.
Das SchwertEach painting begins with a blank canvas. Blum starts painting, often using his hands and without any specific intension in mind. The canvas allows him to dive deep into a place of self-discovery, a chance to let his subconscious find its artistic expression, an outlet to let his soul speak freely. The painting itself takes form with each stroke and each new layer of paint. And it is only when the last coat of paint starts drying, that he take a step back from his artistic flow and will reflect upon and rediscover the significance of his piece for him. He encourages the same process for his viewers: “its up to the people to interpret what they see.”
‘Das Schwert,’ one of the oldest pieces that will be displayed in the Echtzeitmalerei Exhibit, contains three or four paintings underneath, hidden from the observer’s eye. Blum himself says that he “kept on putting more and more paint on until finally the face appeared” ‘Das Schwert’ is exemplary of the creature like figures that are currently continuously re-emerging within his paintings. When asked to analyze this reappearing pattern he laughs: “Maybe I am really waking up right now - who knows”
Echtzeitmalerei - Blum’s first exhibition in the Hardhitta Gallery - will take place from September 5-27th ‘An der Schanz1a’ in Cologne.