Series 'Marta and Moi - Triumph and Loss'

Marta and Moi - Triumph and Loss 

Oil on canvas

4pert (220 x 80 cm) and

2part (220 x 160 cm)

1999

10.000,- Euro

The cause of this subject was the painful loss of my father in August 1998;the cause for the design of the painting was the exhibition at Ballhaus in March of the following year.

The layout of Ballhaus,situated in the North Park in Düsseldorf,is that of an oblong,strictly facing East-West rectangular building which has a useful surface area,as regards larger paintings,two opposite narrow side wall stretching 30 metres along.Due to such spatial conditions,I chose a dichotomous division consisting of a male altar ("triumph",in the Eastern part of the Ballhaus) and a female altar ("loss",in the Western part) respectively a triptych,the sequence of paintings being conceived thus:

 a.) each painting stands exactly opposite to its correspondent opposite-sex altar

 b.) at the same time (as shown here),a lining up of all 6 individual paintings,

      similar to the sequencing of a comic strip,is also possible.

Subject is man as a social being,his deep human need for love and partnersip,his strength (in "Triumph") and,at the same time,his temporal limits (in "Loss").

The especialness of being together between two humans is being emphasized by Marta´s and Moi´s (the protagonists) appearance together in only both respective middle parts of the altars and also by their different features (Marta is slim,light of skin,tall,elegant;Moi is stocky,dark skinned,heavily built).

The gender-specific stereotypes are depicted on 2 side plates (the woman as the mother,set in to a stylised Gothic cathedral;the man as the soldier in a Romanic church);in the other 2,the figures are alone and withdrawn,both searching for (and finding) the secret power of Love and Partnership.The dog,being the classical companion of man,is the surrogate for this togetherness,assigned,in each painting,to one figure and underlines through its posture the condition i.e. the character of his owner.

Thanks to Marta S. and Moi!