“Werner Knaupp”; Visions Of Soil, Visions Of Sea

Looking at Werner Knaupp’s more recent, acrylic paintings, it is as if seeing Franz Kline thru the eye of the post-impressionists. The era originated in 2004 and spanned the next decade of his career, following the experiments with the pastel work. And in practice, the approach is best described as how naturalism would have truly been, in the visual domain — with Knaupp’s cautious treatment of extreme, uncontrollable nature, whether human nature or the North Pole.

The ubiquity of it all is what makes for the grandness of Knaupp’s project. With his search remaining at the heart of every work he’s done, untouched. And sailing a multitude of visual spheres, the journey — a journey home. His inkpen drawings from the 60’s, depicting the desert, his volcanic pastel works of the 90’s, or even his 70’s side of all things humane, each synecdochically pointing out one another, and the whole.

---

Written by Ari Wilson

---

Selection of acrylic works (2004-2012):

Selection of charcoal drawings (1977-1978):

  

Selection of pastel works (1992-2001):

Selection of ink/pen drawings (1965-1968):