TALKING POINT...
Markus Fräger
And is it to be continued ?
Many would bet that they are section of a movie that one convincingly tries to remember and fails to find out. May Markus Fräger´s fictitious stories be told !
No one knows what follows. It does not follow. These images depicted are created for an unique spell and spot: Fraeger´s canvases, where they are born and perpetuate. Each scene responds to the re-creation that a canvas feeds and the masterly skills of an artist fully aware of his environment and time.
It does happen that things come together and produce a great picture. Fascinating it is. A former archeology student interested in art history became a musician for a while and rediscovered a passion for painting in late 90´s in Cologne, Germany. Markus Fräger recalls the influences of that time when n we met to hold our conversation about him and his artworks: "My father is an artist, Thanks to him I learnt drawing the nature, but then I started to study archeology, and art history and founded a music band. I tried all this, but I moved to Cologne Germany back then in the 90s and started to paint.”
Even though the figuration was not a big deal in Germany at that time, Fräger did know exactly how he would make a statement in art. While other well known painters like Gerhard Richter or Lüpertz did paint figuratively, their orientation responded classic parameters. The new form of figuration in painting seemed to erupt with the Leipziger Schule and the influence of painters like Neo Rauch. But Frager´s ambitions in painting pave other ways to the understanding of the compound of art history, society and technical resources.
He continued explaining his love for painting naturalistic works in a time were Gehard Richter, Lüpertz in Cologne reigned, knowing that the latter had oriented to the old school of the figuration. Fraeger understood that it started to take new forms in the figuration thanks to Neo Rauch. Something that everyone back then perceived was the need for a change, that something must come in the 90s. Markus Fraeger was aware of the reinterpretation of figuration in painting.
by Vincent Echenique