Isak W. Koch - ★Exiled - Im Exil★ I Welt im Wandel-Kollektion / World in Transition-Collection (Wolf)

I am too far away from what I love, and my distance is without remedy.

Exiled - I am in exile
50 cm x 70 cm / 20 in x 27.5 in
Acrylic painting on high-quality canvas (stretcher frame)
hand-signed and sealed
"World in Transition" - Collection (Wolf)
2025
Including a signed authenticity certificate.


About the painting

This painting titled 'Exiled' is a deeply moving work, painted with structured brushstrokes and earthy tones of brown, black, gray, orange, and white. The focal point is the distinctive profile of a lonely wolf, whose gaze is directed at something distant, both penetrating and sad. The wolf's fur, painted with multiple brushstrokes, appears rough yet majestic, reflecting the resilience forged through hardship. Its pale eyes seem to glow with resilience and memory.

The background tells its own story – dark, almost apocalyptic brushstrokes form a cityscape in ruins, with jagged towers and clouds of smoke dissolving into a fiery, turbulent sky. The ground is painted with heavy strokes in gray and muted orange, reminiscent of scorched earth, destruction, and devastation. The wolf stands apart from all of this; the foreground separates him from the chaos behind, symbolizing distance and separation.





The story of the "Banished"

Once, the wolf belonged to the land behind it – the towering city, full of fire and life. Perhaps it was revered there as a guardian spirit or a symbol of unity with nature. But then something happened: betrayal, conquest, or an inevitable conflict between humans and nature. The wolf was banished, its place taken by those who no longer recognized its value.

Now the wolf stands at the threshold of doom, gazing at the place he once called home. His posture exudes both dignity and sadness. He is not broken—rather, he has been forced into solitude, banished to walk outside the walls he once protected. The flames in the distance could be a reminder, or they could be the destruction of those who banished him—suggesting that exile might not be a punishment, but a form of liberation.

"Exiled" is more than just the portrait of a wolf; it is the story of resilience, of being pushed aside and yet standing tall. It reflects themes of abandonment, survival, and the strength that can be found in solitude.



About the artist:

Isak Koch (*1962); artist and photographer

Isak Wilhelmus Koch (* June 8, 1962, in Vrede, South Africa) is a versatile and talented artist and photographer who has already gained significant popularity not only in his homeland but also in the USA, Canada, and Europe.

Isak grew up as the son of a farming family in a rural area of South Africa, where his fascination and love for animals and nature developed. This fact is still strongly reflected in his paintings, drawings, and photographs today.

After school and A-levels (1980), he studied graphic design at the Technical University in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng. Here, he began experimenting with a wide range of styles and motifs, mastering them over the course of his career. These include, alongside realism: surrealism, impressionism, abstract art, pencil drawings, scientific and digital illustrations, as well as (art) photography.

Er Malt because he loves painting, because he hopes that through his work, he can bring the viewer closer to, or make them feel, the beauty and rhythm of the seemingly banal things in our world.

Numerous private and public exhibitions followed, including in South Africa and Namibia (1990-2014, among others in buildings of the South African government), Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Portugal, and Germany (including Heilbronn; Lörrach, Weil am Rhein, Öhringen).
Since 2015, Isak has been living and working in Schefflenz, near Mosbach (Baden).

His motifs are found in nature: in flora and fauna, as well as in landscape scenes, with a preference for abandoned places, serving as a visual metaphor of transience. Man-made creations are returned to what is inherently there — nature and time. Both represent the dissolution of existing structures and change.

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More artworks by Isak W. Koch.

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