ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
The Berlin-based artist ONUR is currently working on his ductus. The most recent oil paintings deal with seekers and are themselves the search for a new form. Viewed close up, the thickly applied paint speaks of great intensity; from a distance, the à la prima painted areas of color come together to form complex works of art that focus on people in motion: Wanderers, circus performers and city dwellers - they all pause briefly and look towards the viewer with an open gaze.
In addition to smaller formats in oil, the artist continues to create large-scale murals: the detailed murals have made ONUR known worldwide. His works can be seen in Europe, Northern America and around the globe. The murals are characterized by a radiance that can be seen from afar. The focus of these expressive works is not on the inside, but on the outside: whether environmental catastrophe or climate crisis - the resulting images are depressingly significant and never lose their connection to the viewer.
ONUR is originally from Switzerland and has Turkish roots. After an apprenticeship as a painter, the young artist was drawn to the theater. He made a name for himself early on with his first paintings. He refined his skills in theater painting until he moved to Berlin.
Since then, ONUR has worked as a freelance artist. To this day, he is still searching, which could give the impression that he - like the protagonists of his paintings - is less interested in finding things than in seeing as much as possible along the way.
INTERVIEW
WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO
The Berlin artist ONUR goes on a search. The large-format works of visual artist ONUR can be seen all over the world. His detailed murals adorn buildings in Europe, New Zealand and Northern America. ONUR is now devoting himself to smaller formats and focusing on people.
Onur, you became known for your larger-than-life murals. Why are
you now devoting yourself to smaller oil paintings?
I used to paint exclusively with a roller, down to the last detail. Now, conversely, I try to paint as roughly as possible with a brush in oil. The themes have also changed.
In the past, you were mainly concerned with the environment.
Is that less relevant today?
I'm currently going one step further with my pictures. I no longer just show the symptoms - the melting polar ice caps, forest fires, bees dying off - but I ask about the forlornness of mankind that leads to this. Why is there so little connection? With the world, with others and with ourselves.
The people you have painted are on the move. Where are they going?
On the one hand, I'm interested in people on the move. They are on their way somewhere, they have a destination in mind. Nevertheless, it is often a journey without an arrival. I paint hikers and mountaineers because they are actually on the move. I also work with "transparency", with people who are present and absent at the same time. We encounter the spirits depicted in everyday scenes. They are alone and go unnoticed. Somehow they fall out of the world. A third series I am currently working on shows circus people.
Why are you interested in this motif?
The artists are looking for the spotlight. They are well lit on one side, but are still connected to the shadows. Sometimes they seem to merge with the background. Many people today voluntarily decide to expose themselves to the spotlight of social media.
How do you create your pictures?
I mainly work in my Berlin studio. At the moment I'm trying to paint à la prima. The whole picture is created in a single application of paint. The oil painting is finished with one layer. I consciously try to allow mistakes and leave them visible.
Why is that important?
You can make it easy for yourself and go over it again and again, or you can learn to endure imperfection. I try to do the latter.
Will you continue to paint Murals?
At best, both oil painting and mural painting are possible. What's important to me is a great deal of freedom in terms of content.
Are you also searching?
Who isn't?