THE TRUE STORY BEHIND
FEROMONTANA
A Special Interview by Jasmine Sukary
Feromontana | the true story on Art Market Magazine
An Interview with the successful, anonymous artist,
FEROMONTANA
A law professor and one of the most influential Austrian lawyers today.
Feromontana’s identity is not clear. With many speculations and growing curiosity at the international contemporary art field, we have decided to interview the anonymous artist, whose special style is raising many questions. From classic sculptures covered with colorful spots, icons and symbols, to a large scale painting on the ground and innovative polychromatic large-scale canvases, the anonymous Austrian artist speaks with Art Market’s journalist, explaining the reason for hiding his identity and how it all began.
Feromontana. Sand meets David, colored sand on canvas, 100x80cm
Hello, Feromontana. We are very excited to have you here. Let’s begin with recent affairs – you have just exhibited several artworks in a group exhibition in New York.
F: Yes, it was great to be back in New York and to be part of this vibrant megacity. I exhibited some of my large scale paintings and used the trip to find some new inspirations. There is a tour through Manhattan that takes you to the best Graffiti-artworks. Some of the works are breathtaking and I really envy the unknown artists for their artistic skills.
These large scale paintings have made a growing interest in the artist behind them. Were you at the opening night of the exhibition? How does it feel to arrive at the exhibition, to see the reaction of visitors, potential buyers and collectors, without coming forward with the option to communicate with them?
F: Well, I do communicate with the visitors.
In the role of another visitor. I like to hear their take on my artwork without them knowing that I am the artist. That way the feedback is honest. Sometimes even brutally honest. But most of the time those interactions enrich my life. In Florence, at the Biennale, for example, I helped dozens of people by taking pictures of them with their smartphones in front of my art. Seeing them smile while touching my sculpture is priceless. However I most enjoy questions like “Do you understand how he did this? How is it possible, those spots are so three dimensional?” It is not the typical way of communicating, but it absolutely helps me to improve my work.
And now, to our main question: why hiding your real identity?
FEROMONTANA. Exhibition View. NY
F: As you know, in my “other life” I am a law professor, teaching at a renowned Austrian University and I am one of the most well-known lawyers in Austria. I have a reputation of being a tough negotiator. This life is very consuming, it can sometimes even be exhausting, and creating positive and colorful art is the perfect way for me to reduce the daily stress and to start with a positive mindset into the next week. I never wanted or expected to make a living out of my art projects. They were for me and for me only.
So it is a complex situation: on one hand, being one of the most successful lawyers in Austria, an influential figure, a respectable professor in a main position working a highly strict field; and on the other hand, a successful artist exhibiting his work in galleries and art fairs around the world. What do you think will happen if your identity will be revealed? Do you think it will affect your position in the field of law?
F: As you might imagine, creating colorful, positive art does not fit very well with being a tough negotiator in a competitive and, most of the time, unfriendly environment. My unexpected success in the arts, especially with my sculptures, makes it more difficult to stay anonymous. Even though I do not expect a negative impact on my professional life, I still would like to keep my artist life to myself – just for the sake of having my own private retreat place.
Feromontana. This Page: “The kingly gift”, Statue with foundation, 253x110x70
How do you manage to combine your practice in art with your career in law? What impact does the workload have on your personal life?
F: Like I said, for me creating art is a form of stress relief. So I guess most of the time the impact on my personal life is positive. But I have to admit after many years of stress reduction, my wife grew angry with all the paintings and sculptures in our house and garden. Therefore, despite the fact I hate to part with even a single piece I created, I had to ask a befriended lawyer to help me sell some of my works and I had to start attending art fairs and exhibitions. Since then the workload has become even more intense, but what can I say, my wife is happy because of the reduction of art in the house.
As in many cases in history, in art and literature, for example, Romain Gary and his fake identity as Emile Ajar, In Art- Banksy, we can see that it’s very hard to keep the real identity hidden. Are you assuming that one day you will have to come forward and admit that you are the artist?
F: I consider my art unique, complex and creative with a high recognition value, but as an artist I don’t think I am that important and interesting to have too many people wonder who I am. In case this changes someday, it will be inevitable to come forward. Then I might be forced to decide whether to stop working as a lawyer or to stop creating art. To tell you the truth the latter seems impossible for me.
Does your close, personal environment – for example, your relatives and your closest circle of friends – know about your art?
F: Obviously my family knows. Too many paintings and sculptures in and around the house. Some friends know too. But for most of the people I deal with, my private life stays very private.
Tell us about your background, how did it all begin? When did you find your passion for creating art and what led to your current art style?
F: It should not be very surprising that when I was young I wanted to become an artist. I had so many ideas of what to create that I have been a nightmare for my parents. Like in most of the typical middle class families becoming an artist was not an option. So I studied law and found that creativity can also help lawyers make a living.
My idea of “reshaping” antique sculptures into unique contemporary art developed in 2010 when I bought a 650 year old bedraggled estate: the estate was – in the 18th century – the ancestral seat of a noble house. However it seemed like since then the estate was abandoned. The house had no electricity, no heating and no warm water. While renovating the house over more than five years I found a beautiful old and dusty sculpture, an antic torso, in a corner of the attic. I wanted to keep it in the house as a reminder of the history of the estate. However it did not seem to fit into the new modern and contemporary interior I created. So I decided to transform the sculpture into something completely new. I found the result breathtakingly colorful and a very positive combination of present and past themes. As the outcome was satisfying and comforting I started to acquire antique sculptures all over Austria and Italy and tried to find different ways to link the antique sculpture skills and the beauty of antique statues with the contemporary present.
Feromontana. Two blue unknown flying objects, acrylic on canvas, 60x90cm
You are one of the hottest names in the contemporary art field. What is contemporary art to you?
F: Contemporary art is very hard to define and to curtail. I consider contemporary art as a special form of innovation and inventiveness. Contemporary art is excellent, when it creates something completely new and surprising, preferably in a positive way. You don’t have to like the color or the style or the motive, but when you see a painting, a sculpture or an installation and feel like “Oh, what a great idea, I never thought of that”, then you see true and lasting contemporary art as I would define it. For example there are thousands of people who have the artistic skills to paint a beautiful portrait but there are just a few artists who have the richness of ideas and the ability to transform a portrait into something unheard of and unseen before. It is very difficult to separate beautiful and skillful art, which comes in hundreds of different shapes from surprising, unheard of contemporary art. Look at the knife installations of Farhad Moshiri, the balloon dogs of Jeff Koons, the socially-critical street art by Banksy, the reduced paintings of Julian Opie, the spot paintings of Damien Hirst, the brilliance of Albert Uderzo in drawing Asterix Characters or the different ways, Yayoi Kusama arranges dots. Like I said, you don’t necessarily have to like it or consider it true artistic textbook art, but all of the mentioned examples are great innovative ideas. And from my perspective: unfortunately I never thought of one of those great ideas.
I must ask about your stage name, Feromontana. What does it mean? How did you choose it?
F: If I told you, the “coming forward” would be this interview.
Did you ever study art? Your large-scale figures show an excellent knowledge in proportions and classic art.
F: Unfortunately not. I studied artists and their work my whole life but I never studied art.
Tell us about your large-scale painting on the ground. How do you get to this kind of accuracy while you are on the ground? Do you use any technical gear like GoPro for photographing from the air?
Feromontana. Friendly landing zone, spray paint on earth, 200x70m
F: “Friendly landing zone”, my up to now largest painting on the ground, was created without any technical gear. It is inspired by the infamous crop circles. Even though they are most certainly man-made, conspiracy theorists explained the crop circles as landing zones for aliens. They argued that aliens on earth built the circles as a directory and marker for landing UFOs. I always thought that it must be a depressing impression for landing aliens to see plain colored circles in light brown as the first message from earth. So I wanted my multicolored rings to be a friendly and positive alternative for a first impression of earth. I hope the conspiracy theorists like this idea of a better world.
What materials do you usually use in your artworks, and why do you prefer them specifically?
F: The challenge in working with antique sculptures was to make sure that the color stays on the marble and is water- and weather-resistant. For this I have to use water resistant aerosol colors and I have to prepare the sculptures before I work with them. For my paintings I use different materials like acrylic and sand as well as spray paint.
Feromontana. “Diana”, Statue with foundation, 278x85x55cm
It seems that in 2017, last year, you had your big break, as The Diana sculpture was exhibited at the entrance of the XI Florence Biennale 2017 in Italy. You have received the respectable Lorenzo IL Magnifico Award, and you were chosen as one of the Top Contemporary Artists worldwide by the judges team of Art Market Magazine for the GOLD LIST Special edition with a worldwide distribution in Print and Digital. All of this development is very impressive. Tell us about your expectations from the future, and about your upcoming projects and plans for future exhibitions.
Feromontana at Florence Biennale 2017
F: I really have no expectations. I want to continue to create innovative, new, positive art. Currently there are two projects I would like to realize, both of which will need approval of the involved governments: As you might know, the refugee crisis has the EU in its grips. Germany wants to build migration detention centers at the border to Austria. I will offer to paint the walls of one of these centers in the way I created the “Friendly Landing Zone”. Detention centers will never be a “friendly landing zone”, but maybe this way I can create a somewhat positive and friendly alternative for the first impression of the western civilization. The other project I would like to realize is a painting on one of the houses along the High Line in New York.
DR. MELANIE ZEFFERINO, Chief Curator, Florence Biennale, Presenting the GOLD LIST Special Edition of The International Art Market Magazine at Florence Biennale 2017 On the Background: “Diana”, Statue with foundation, 278x85x55cm
Diana- Selfi- by Feromontana at Florence Biennale 2017
Finally, is there something you would like to tell aspiring artists, that you wish you had known in the beginning of your art career?
F: If you want to keep your girlfriend or to stay married, make sure you have a place to store your artwork other than at home!
