square
Stefan Osterider is a painter and thus follows the tradition of this classical
medium of art history. In the course of the 20th century, this medium has been declared dead repeatedly, yet it is still very much alive. The task of
painting though has changed, particularly due to the seemingly infinite
and widely accessible ways of creating a universe of pictures on the computer. Painters are now challenged to come up with answers regarding the actual possibilities inherent in their medium. Additionally, the influence of electronically generated pictures on contemporary artists like Stefan Osterider, who have grown up with these new media, must not be overlooked.
Osterider´s paintings are related to 20th century history of painting on the one hand and associated with web art on the other:
The grounds which consist of several layers are almost monochrome, the layering method creating depth and a widening effect towards the background of the picture. The colours are subdued, muted, sometimes nearly black. Formal elements which are similar to one another emerge from these grounds. Rectangles, squares and lines in contrasting colours seem to be floating in front of the pictorial space. Their arrangement is free and does not follow any mathematical or geometric pattern. The eye of the beholder
wanders amongst these elements and in this way sets them in motion.
Another source of dynamics is the tension between the ground of a painting and the shapes on it: This gives the picture a lyrical and poetic quality.
The geometrical shapes, which are not precisely outlined but hint at a rather free-handed brushwork, can be traced back to the reduced and objectified inventory of Minimalism, to the tradition of geometric abstraction. The multi-layered grounds with their subtle hues and traces of a gestural way of painting are linked to informal expressive abstraction.
It is the mixture of these two traditions that makes up the charm of Stefan Osterider´s pictures.
The above-mentioned motion of individual shapes in front of or on top of monochrome grounds evokes the association with electronic media and images; it is reminiscent of early, still simple computer games like for instance "Tetris", in which shapes floating down from up above had to be arranged in coherent lines.
All of Osterider´s pictures contain this element of playfulness and lightness which is sometimes enhanced by the titles as well. For example, one of the pictures is simply called "game". These generally English titles add another dimension to the paintings: they either describe what is obviously depicted, like in "square" which has also been chosen as the motto of the exhibition; or they have a narrative and emotional quality, taking the beholder beyond the actual work of art to a more poetic universe, like in "small world" or "stars".
Dr. Gudrun Danzer, Neue Galerie, Stift Rein/Graz, 2005