Vernissage: LEO RUMERSTORFER

"I have always been interested in the cryptic, the hidden behind the obvious, the layers beneath the surface. Again and again it is encrypted in my images, some may discover it, others may not. That is part of the game."
Leo Rumerstorfer

Without any formal art education, Leo Rumerstorfer began painting copies of classical masters with pastel chalk and similar materials on the streets in the pedestrian zones of various Central European cities. Around the same time, the first watercolors and oil paintings emerged, in which the search for his own, distinctive style was already visible. Later, through his collaboration (which still exists today) with the German Gothic band "Umbra et Imago" (and their side project "Dracul"), further influences and inspirations were added. For these band(s) he created, among other things, album covers and participated with painting performances in some of their live shows on stage and other joint events.
Today he works primarily in acrylic on specially treated hardboard panels, mostly in a uniform format (depending only on whether portrait or landscape orientation). On the side and on a much smaller scale, pen drawings colored (mostly) with watercolor have recently emerged again.

"My works are often associated with Surrealism. Of course, that is not fundamentally wrong. However, I don't really see myself as a Surrealist - the Pre-Raphaelites and the representatives of Symbolism in 19th-century England (and the latter also in France) are somewhat closer to me emotionally. Somehow transferred to our - without making too much judgment - quite unstable times..."

Although the style changes more or less pronounced at intervals of varying duration, Leo Rumerstorfer still tries to let his own handwriting be recognized, whereby influences, borrowings, and sometimes quotations from the works of classical masters, Symbolism, the Pre-Raphaelites, some photorealism to Art Nouveau and sometimes into the abstract are recognizable and (usually depending on the basic theme) employed. The predominant themes can certainly be understood or interpreted as socially critical, whereby the artist (as mentioned at the beginning in the quote) does not wish to commit to specific things in order to give space to the cryptic, the not immediately comprehensible, in which the viewer arrives at his own mysticism and vague suspicion, which stands in contrast to a world of facts and all things explainable.

"It is not one of art's tasks to answer questions - but it is one of its tasks to ask questions".

His exhibitions are laid out to be as space-consuming as possible (insofar as the environment allows), the relatively large formats want to assert themselves in this space, make it their own. A world of images that one can fall into, from the overall context into the labyrinth of numerous fine details; perhaps also an invitation to spend time with the painting and to explore it like an initially unfamiliar region.

"Of course, the vernissage, the opening of the presentation is always part of the overall concept. Clearly, it depends on the environment, what opportunities present themselves, often these are very different. I like to be able to vary, to engage in a play with the local conditions. This can take many forms - from very quiet, calm and almost silent to colorful, loud and opulent. But I don't want to reveal too much. It should be different each time, and if there is also the occasional surprise, that is of course an enrichment".

"If the collaboration with Umbra et Imago, or Dracul leaves traces in this, one can certainly also regard that as a welcome element".

"The title of the project at WinStage - NATIONAL GALLERY OF NO MAN'S LAND - refers to the fact that art is mainly regarded as common property, as easily accessible to everyone as possible, without immediately claiming ownership. Similar to a kind of cloud, which one could at least in the figurative sense regard as something like a freely accessible no man's land, a place that - among other things, of course - is also suitable for meeting informally, exchanging ideas and engaging with what is offered. How far this basic idea should be further refined, intensified and continued beyond the WinStage project is currently unclear. But it is basically not to be ruled out".

Exhibitions so far in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Czech Republic
(Solo exhibitions as well as group exhibition participations).