Martin Schnur: Ihr gegenüber

Martin Schnur (born 1964) is one of the most important representatives of figurative painting in Austria. His works are represented in all major museums and the artist has also been able to reach a wide range of collectors internationally with his work.

Martin Schnur has become known for his typical picture-in-picture motifs. Two seemingly different pictorial worlds are combined on one canvas. This results in different sceneries - which in today's world makes one think of the overlapping of different media - and causes the viewer to be irritated by what is depicted. Perfectly staged in terms of painting, the pictures thus take on the character of a "billboard". Hardly any other painter of his generation achieves this quality of painting. Trained as a sculptor, Schnur quickly turned to painting and from then on confronted the question of how light, reflection and mood can be brought onto the two-dimensional support of the canvas with the aid of brush and paint alone.
Among other things, a large-format work entitled "Her Opposite" will be on display - in this work, the woman lying in the water is reflected, but her reflection is not herself but another person. The theme of truth and the seemingly visible becomes the main theme of the picture here.
In addition to this large work, Martin Schnur's oeuvre is also shown with his small-format copper paintings. Copper, a material with a long tradition in art history, challenges the painter in a completely different way. The copper surface does not absorb the paint and so must be painted quickly and gesturally.