A brush with... Charline von Heyl

Charline von Heyl talks to Ben Luke about her influences—from writers to film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped her life and work. Von Heyl, born in 1960 in Mainz, Germany, is one of the most original painters working today. Her art deliberately defies description, evading orthodox definitions like abstract or figurative by attempting to reach a space in which the viewer is emotionally and intellectually engaged to the extent that such terms are meaningless—a place, she has said, “where thoughts and feelings meet”. Her canvases are complex, with multiple layers of forms applied with apparently contradictory languages, from intricately applied patterns and hard-edges to free-flowing painterly passages. The images she paints are similarly disparate, with identifiable shapes alongside loose, lyrical, inchoate forms. And while some patterns, motifs, techniques, colour relationships and structures might repeat—particularly among discrete clusters of paintings—Von Heyl resists having a signature style. She keeps herself—and us, as viewers—guessing. Her paintings are the opposite of one-liners, instead revealing more the longer they are absorbed. While she is entirely individual in her language, Von Heyl is one of a number of artists internationally who are testing the possibilities of painting in the 21st century. She discusses the balance of chance and choice at the heart of her work, how she tunes herself “into a certain vibe” while painting, the different “speeds” at which she works, and the “contamination”, more than influence, of other artists. She reflects on her early transformative encounter with the German painter Wols, being taught by Jörg Immendorf, her fascination with Le Corbusier’s paintings and how Emily Dickinson and Peter Handke’s writings have affected her work. Plus she gives insight into her studio life and answers our usual questions, including the ultimate: what is art for?

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