GERD PAULICKE | An Exclusive Interview || A Profound Question Of Identity

An Exclusive Interview With
GERD PAULICKE
By Ariel SU

A Profound Question Of Identity

Expressed through sculpture and installation, supported by experimental photography and painting, Gerd Paulicke’s body of work is filled with reflective fragments tied to humanity in the broader sense. Yet, this universal subject is often shown through figurative self-portraits in which he uses himself as an archetype, referring to the closest point of human-centered contemplation for every man: the self.
There is nothing narcissistic in these representations; on the contrary, the artist’s image is merely a neutral feature in the function of the work. The viewer is invited to consider the sensations the pieces emit, questioning his borders and limitations. The result is a highly inspiring physical and psychological artwork that communicates uninterruptedly.
With his works, GERD PAULICKE questions the change of the world and the resulting fragments of human existence and wisdom. To track, perceive, and illuminate the resulting relics are key themes of his work. He also attempts to guide the viewer to search for the tracks of his identity and to make him sensitive to the perception of his environment. The topic of “burner experience” is central in Gerd Paulick’s works.
The topic branches into the most different areas of the human being. Be it visual, acoustic, and also from physical and mental aspects. His work expresses questions about human existence, such as Where are each individual’s limits? Where do we set our limits? When are boundaries crossed?
Gerd Paulicke’s work has been featured in group and solo exhibitions worldwide, including at the Vernissage Fondation Silene Giannini Cevio-Maggiatal in Switzerland and the House of Electronic Arts Basel / CH.
In recent years, you could also view his work at international art fairs, including at the Discovery Art Fair Cologne. In addition, his works of art were added to notable public and private collections, including at the Gallery of Modernity, Vienna, Regierungspräsidium Freiburg, Germany, and at the “QQTec” organization for “Art, Culture, Technology” in Germany.

“Every visitor has his own past and way of thinking; hopefully, looking at my art opens the door to more profound thoughts.
With my work, I would like to create a unique atmosphere in the room that electrifies when you discover it. You can describe this atmosphere as coolness and silence; each visitor dives into his deeper feelings and his own thoughts. ”
– Gerd Paulicke

An Exclusive Interview With
GERD PAULICKE
By Ariel SU

Art Market Magazine: Thank you, Gerd, for this interview. Your art is unique. I personally find the large-scale installations and your sculptures fascinating. Let’s talk about how you were drowned in creating these installations and in the art field in general. In 2010 you graduated from the FIU in Hamburg, was sculpture your primary field of study?

Gerd Paulicke: First of all, thank you for the invitation and the interest in my art. I started my studies with a passion for painting, but I found the painting classes boring very quickly. As a result, I lost interest and switched to focusing on sculpture after only one semester.
My sculpture studies were fascinating. I had the pleasure to have teachers such as Karin, Wolfgang Genoux, and Stephan Stüttgen (Master students of Joseph Beuys). Another influential teacher was the art historian Olaf Pascheit. It was a real privilege to study with these great artists.
Until 2019 I focused on sculptures and installations. I only returned to oil paintings during the Corona lockdowns in spring 2020. I still see myself at the beginning of a journey. I still need to explore the field of painting.

Art Market Magazine: In a description of your work by Ana Bambić Kostov, your work is titled a ‘Monochromatic World of Thought.’
How did you start developing your current artistic style, and how would you describe it?

Gerd Paulicke: My artistic direction developed mainly towards the end of my studies. The impetus for this at the time was the question of the importance of a base for a sculpture. And also the elevation of a figurative form.
You put something on top of other things because you consider it essential. After all, it is also something humans strive for: to reach the top and be at the top.
Higher, further, faster. Standing on top of a platform in focus. Just like a sculpture, with its solid stability. But where do the healthy aspiration and the need for achieving end? Where are the boundaries and the limitations where greed and power take over the striving? I also wrote and built my diploma thesis on this topic.
The main focus of my work is the need for human beings to reach the highest, but they aim too high, which is a dangerous position to be in. Eventually, it causes the figures to despair, disappear, and merge into the white space.

Art Market Magazine: In your work, mainly in your painting and drawings, we can see realistic figures floating on the surface, the background is usually not defined, and you utilize a monochrome palette of white and gray nuances.
Is it for creating an illusion of space, reality, or movement?

Gerd Paulicke: Until the beginning of 2020, I focused exclusively on three-dimensional figurative artworks and installations. That was until the Corona Pandemic spread, and most countries entered a lockdown.
I only started with the oil paintings during the lockdown of 2020, which was the perfect time to explore and try something new. To extend a conceptual idea from sculpture to painting, I renounce color and consciously only use white and grey to pass the concept to a new platform. The viewer can see the center of my oil paintings is concentrated in the observation of light and shadow as in my sculptural works. The focus is not on the color but on the form.

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Art Market Magazine: I received the association of isolation from society in your work. The self-portraits are usually lonely figures, expressing profound thoughts, maybe desperation, and always alone on the surface. What is the philosophical idea behind your work? Is it an expression of your opinion on the relationship between the individual and society?

Gerd Paulicke: From my point of view, my works of art contain two philosophical issues. The first is expressed through oil paintings I painted during the lockdown, intended to describe the human powerlessness and the intangible danger in front of the Virus. We were powerless against the Virus, and no one knew how long we would be isolated or exposed to a threat.
I live right on the border of Germany and Switzerland. The borders were sealed here and could only be crossed with special permission. It was an extreme restriction of freedom for the region, and there were also curfews. So the situation was very depressive and scary.
But the more profound philosophical basis of my works is the question of the lifespan of an identity. How long does it take for someone’s memory to be forgotten?
Some are remembered by a person because they became famous, and some are forgotten shortly after their death. But the fact is that every memory is forgotten at a certain point in time. But the question is, how important is it to be remembered?

My art can also be connected to memory loss diseases, such as those caused by Alzheimer’s or dementia. In my work, I remove myself from the canvas with a brush. So I erase myself into nothing. Hence the monochrome background on the painting. But the central question of identity duration arises in the painting.

In my Work “Selbstporetrait – Leerraum-Raumfreigabe,” I remove myself from the canvas with a brush. So I erase myself into nothing. Hence the monochrome background on the painting. But the central question of identity duration arises.
In the installation “Stuhl,” A chair that is not occupied is still lit.
The memories linger on. However, the personification in this work is very anonymous, another aspect I love to feel through this installation.

Art Market Magazine: In some of your work, you use symbolic elements for death. For example, in your work “Memento mori” from 2012, or in your work “Auf Die Plätze, Fertig, Los…Lassen” from 2020.
Where does this need to express thoughts of death and war come from? Is there a connection to World War II? Or is it more about the current situation in the world?

Gerd Paulicke: My “Memento mori” works do not focus on the themes of war or the current situation in the world, but they focus on and express death in general. In our society, this topic is suppressed from our lives.
Human beings don’t like uncomfortable topics. Everyone must die for themselves. Your closest partner may accompany you to the edge if you’re lucky. You jump out of life without a return ticket. I think most people fear the moment and the uncertainty of what comes after death. Interestingly, I don’t know anyone who gets scared when they think about the time before they were born. You weren’t there either.
This artistic examination of death also has a long tradition here in my region around Basel.
When, at the age of 13, I visited the art museum in Basel alone during the summer holidays, and I discovered “Dead Christ in the Grave” by Hans Holbein the younger (Late Renaissance, 1521), I was fascinated by this atmosphere and also by this oil Lindenholz technique.
From that moment on, my passion for art never left me. And today, this painting impresses me as much as in my youth. But other masterpieces in Basel about death also influenced me on this topic. Such as Der Basler Totentanz ca. 1440 (Artist unknow), Arnold Böcklin “Selbstporträt mit fiedelndem Tod”, 1872, and Jean Tinguely “Mengele Totentanz” moving room installation, 1985.

Art Market Magazine:
What reaction would you like the viewer to have while looking at your work? What thought would you want to be raised?

Gerd Paulicke: I wouldn’t call it a reaction. The viewers’ thoughts should stay personal, and not all of them should be shared.
Every visitor has his own past and way of thinking; hopefully, looking at my art opens the door to more profound thoughts.
With my work, I would like to create a unique atmosphere in the room that electrifies when you discover it. You can describe this atmosphere as coolness and silence; each visitor dives into his deeper feelings and his own thoughts.

Art Market Magazine: Tell us about the materials and the process of creating an installation. What materials do you use for your sculptures? Can you describe the process of creating an artwork from the idea stage to the final outcome?

Gerd Paulicke: I prefer not to commit to a specific process and obligate myself to materials but rather consider beforehand which materials are best for each work of art. The possibilities of epoxy, concrete, bronze, steel, electronics, wood …etc. All in all, it’s always a considerable effort. The idea phase of an artwork is different, so each creation of an artwork is unique.
There are ideas for works that have to mature over two years. Other ideas come instinctively or accidentally during a work process, for example, because parts of figures or material are lying around in the studio by chance. In the case of a plastic figure, for example, a steel frame is welded, and the plasticine figure is formed on it. Then a silicone mold, negative, is made. Finally, the negative form is filled with epoxy, sanded, and varnished. I now have larger-scale works made in an art foundry.

Art Market Magazine: Tell us about your latest exhibition and participation at the Discovery Art Fair Cologne. Was it successful? What were the viewer’s reactions to your work?

Gerd Paulicke: It was a privilege to take part and exhibit my work at the Discovery Art Fair – Cologne in April this year.
Because of the Corona pandemic, It was the first time I had exhibited in Cologne; before that, I had already exhibited in three art events at Discovery Art Fair Frankfurt.

The Discovery Art Fair team, conducted by Jörgen Gloz, makes the fair a unique experience for artists and galleries. Everything is perfectly organized from the first step of the advertising to the exhibition booth. The team will greet you with a smile. You don’t have to worry about anything except your artworks and the visitors to your booth. No doubt, I feel very comfortable exhibiting at their fairs.
With the end of the corona pandemic regulations and the start of the war in Ukraine, I came to the fair with mixed feelings. Will there be many visitors? What is the purchasing power of the visitors? But these doubts were unfounded. We had a lot of visitors on all fair days and some excellent sales.

The reactions to my artworks are positive as well as negative, but always interesting! The adverse responses come because I often ask uncomfortable questions about life and human behavior. For some people, it’s a complex issue to deal with. But no matter what reactions my works trigger, the confrontation and the questions and the work of art touch the viewer.
Art has to ask questions, even if these questions are uncomfortable.
Sometimes I deal with uncomfortable questions with the help of a bit of humor. I like it when the feelings swing from amusement to thoughtfulness when looking at it, and the work cannot be classified by emotion.
Since my artwork only contains white and grey, my fair booth initially appears very quiet in the middle of the other colorful artworks in the exhibition hall and therefore appears rather inconspicuous. But I’m also very aware of that and want it that way. So unobtrusiveness is also a significant focus of my work. The confrontation between the artwork and the visitor arises more regarding content.

Art Market Magazine: What does the future bring? Where can we see your work? Are there any planned exhibitions in the months to come?

Gerd Paulicke: I’ve just come from an exhibition in Switzerland, in Cevio near Locarno. This is a group exhibition run with the support of Foundation Silene Giannini and is being featured until September 10, 2022.

I am preparing for a solo exhibition at the Kunsthaus BBK in Braunschweig, Germany, which will be open at the beginning of July. The exhibition’s title is “Ich …weiss…! “which is a play of words in German. It is an allusion to the white color of my artwork and also to the question of knowledge. (Ich weiss – I am white/ Ich weiss- I know).
Philosophically led by Sokrates – I know that I know nothing.

I also look forward to a group exhibition at the Kunstverein Friedberg in Germany.
The exhibition’s name is “DEATH – DISEASE – DEMOCRACY,” and many influential artists from all over the globe will present their recent projects. Unfortunately, I can’t share more details about it, but it will be fascinating.

Read the full article in Art Market Magazine July 2022 Issue #72