Bernhard Brodda (1912-1972) - Abstract

This work fits very well with Bernard Brodda's characteristic visual language, a contemporary artist known for his gestural and material-expressive abstract painting.

Regarding the work you are showing

What we see is an abstract composition dominated by a palette of ochres, earth tones, sepias, blacks and creams, with a strong presence of:
• Thick textures applied with a spatula
• Horizontal sweeps that create a sense of an eroded landscape
• Layer overlays that create depth and movement
• Energetic gestures that suggest rhythm and tension

The surface reminds me of:
• geological formations
• desert landscapes
• rock strata
• or even ancient walls worn by time

It is an abstraction that does not literally depict it, but evokes nature, territory, and memory.

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The style of Bernard Brodda

Brodda works within a contemporary abstraction closely tied to:
• The material painting
• European Abstract Expressionism
• Gestural painting and process

Their works are usually created through:
• successive layers of paint
• Shaved ice and arrastres
• Interventions with a spatula, brush, and sometimes non-traditional tools

This makes each painting have a strong physical presence: not only is it seen, it is almost 'felt'.

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The feeling this piece conveys.

This work in particular conveys:
• Calm and strength at the same time
• A sense of ancient territory
• Silence, vastness, open space
• Something very earthy, very connected to the land

It’s a painting that works very well in spacious, minimalist spaces, because it almost acts like a window into an emotional landscape.