Mostly on large canvases, Claudia Wilholt creates multi-layered images with self-made egg tempera, using natural materials. Her dreamy and colorful paintings seem to grow in a slow, meditative process, almost like a living organism.
Even though Wilholt is deeply rooted in a European tradition to depict nature, she still manages to evade any naturalisitc conformity. Wilholt may be representing water, forests, skies, seeking to depict their essence. But neither is she fully turning to the landscape sujet, nor is she seeking any of the generic, quick effects that we see in so many contemporary paintings today. Her abstraction is an almost spiritual one, a metaphorical image that only fully forms in the spectator’s mind and heart, possibly leaving them changed, too.
All paintings shown in the exhibition were created in British Columbia. Claudia Wilholt is currently visiting the island as an artist in residence with the Salt Spring Arts Council. In October 2019, she stayed at the Ou Gallery in Duncan (https://www.theougallery.com/air-artist-profiles/2019/10/1/claudia-wilhot-germany ), also as an artist in residence. She lives and works in Germany, where she has exhibited in many solo and group shows (www.wilholt.com).
The painter will also give an artist talk and an egg tempera workshop at the beginning of the month (https://ssartscouncil.com/events/).
