CASPAR BAUM
530 West 25th Street, New York, NY
Artist Caspar Baum deconstructs the built and natural worlds with his oil and acrylic paintings. He balances his subjects with unobstructed backgrounds or blurred settings, giving the artist space to capture the light, color, and structure of his subject to be the focus. To create each piece, Baum carefully divides his canvases into portions that correspond in both size and density, then re-composes each segment to assemble an imaginative, subdued environment. His recent series was inspired by Gothic cathedrals and explores dynamic structures and how they integrate themselves into our environments.
Inspired by the atmosphere, stillness, and tranquility he experienced while traveling through Eastern Asia, Baum intends his works to bring those elements into a given space. An avid traveler, Baum gives us a window into all the places he’s been and the scenes that defined these experiences. “My paintings depict my artistic journeys—incorporating elements of travel, fascination, discovery, and cultural interaction,” said the artist. Unobstructed backgrounds are leveled with the allocation of the subject, be it a forest, valley or surface of a structure. As the piece takes hold and shape, Baum becomes the brave intruder creating an integrative diary of the earth’s natural vastness. Baum has previously exhibited at the Deutsche Bank Foundation, the Ulmer Museum, the Hans Werner Henze Collection, and the Richard Meier Studio and Agora Art Gallery, both in New York.
CASPAR BAUM ON
My work is influenced by the light and structure of objects. It plays with shadows and illumination, following the rhythm of music and patterns of orchestral composition. My work is significantly inspired by my frequent travel to Asia, referring to principles of harmony, as known in the perception of art in Asia. The envelope of the canvas is carefully divided into areas corresponding in size and density to each other, trying to avoid aggressive unbalanced situations. The selection of colors follows the range of materials and elements which are traditional for Asia, its nature and man-made treasures.
My admiration for the Orient has taken me to many places in Asia and I am attracted both to the scenery and the art of Asian culture. But more importantly, it is the atmosphere, the quietness and the meditative way of feeling things - turning inside and trying to establish harmony and balance - that I want to convey with brush strokes or pencil lines.
I try to balance the allocation of subjects with unobstructed backgrounds in my work. Some areas are blurred to allow for an open perception - being anything from a forest, a valley, to a surface of a stone wall. Other parts of the work are allocated on the canvas for distinct objects, such as a tree, part of a temple, the edge of a bush or the Great Wall. These changes from undefined material to condensed structure highlight details with shadow, contrast and white reflection. My paintings are a diary of a traveler. This particular diary has no words, it has paintings that describe the landscapes.
In my paintings, I aim to depict my artistic journeys and the deep influences many countries have had on me, which I want to share with others. For inquiries, sales@agora-gallery.com
530 West 25th Street, New York, NY 212-226-4151 Fax: 212-966-4380
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