In the Clouds | kaestner ART

Story of the Cycle

I recently rediscovered a game from my childhood. It was at a moment when I was thinking about something while looking into the distance.

My gaze turned to the blue sky. The sun was shining, mountains of clouds were passing by and everything was so peaceful.

I began to discover faces, animals, and imaginary beings in the different shapes of the clouds. And as I did, I started to smile because I remembered how it was like playing this game with my friends.

We lay on a meadow, looked at the sky and laughed together about our discoveries. We started making up stories and letting our imaginations run wild. We felt so light, cheerful and free. We literally flew through the clouds ourselves, as close observers of the story’s protagonists, so to speak.

It is a game without borders in many senses. A game that almost meditatively stimulates creativity, free thinking and feeling. I will play it more often again.

Artistic Approach

The implementation of this theme is based on the form of the kakemono or kakejiku. These Japanese, vertical format scroll paintings contain calligraphies or paintings in their center, are bordered by silk fabric or paper and are held at the top and bottom by wooden sticks.

I have created these three works on canvas. The top and bottom edges are sewn. The canvas on both sides is folded back, creating a border and fixed with a special adhesive. A crescent-shaped wooden stick is set at the top. Below is a round timber, which I painted black and then varnished.

The respective painting in the center depicts the theme of the cycle. I didn’t create the shapes of the clouds myself, but rather took them from the cloudy sky over Guadeloupe. In order to finally recreate the silk fabric with its internal structure, I designed a geometric pattern and let it flow around the painting.

Each of the three works has a roll for storage based on the classic Japanese model.