Marina Lörwald — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

May 2

May 2 Marina Lörwald

Biography
The artist Marina Lörwald was born in Duisburg. After graduating in Visual Communication/ Graphic Design at the University of Applied Sciences in Düsseldorf, she worked as an art director for a major advertising agency, where she looked after national and international brands in both the print and TV sectors and received a number of prestigious awards. (Toulouse-Lautrec Medal in Gold, Finalist Award - London International Advertising Award, Finalist Award - International Advertising Festival Of New York, Effies - Awards for Efficient Advertising). She deepened her knowledge of painting at the IBKK Bochum, where she graduated from Prof. Sonnewend's master class. Marina Lörwald works as an independent artist and lecturer. She gives classes at the adult education centre in Mönchengladbach, in Kaarst and in Korschenbroich. Since 2017, she has been in charge of the art groups to prisoners at the correctional facilities in Mönchengladbach and Willich-Anrath.
The artist has shown her work in national and international exhibitions.
She is a member of c/o Mönchengladbach and in the BBK (The Professional Association of Visual Artists).

Artist Statement

Everything we do and everything that happens leaves traces. And it influences what follows: both physically and mentally. Nothing is exempt from this - life, togetherness, nature, the world, the universe ...
Everything can be traced. Everything can be covered up and uncovered again - nothing remains as it is.
With the means of multiple overpainting with oil paints and oil pastels, partly on specially prepared surfaces, I explore the possibilities of the permanent trace. I am attracted by the visible and physical experience - the direct observation during the process. In multiple work processes and layers of colour, I trace the changes and make the traces visible. These structures, in turn, change, blur, intensify, dig in, bear witness and arouse curiosity. The layering of the colour applications creates a relief-like testimony of the meditative creative process.

What first prompted you to think of becoming an artist?

I can’t really put my finger on one single thing, because it was a long process. Growing up in a working-class family, I had little contact with art or museums. But when we had to attend church services, I bridged the boredom by studying the images of suffering. Fascinated by the fact that painting could express so much emotion, I began to paint myself and attended drawing classes at the adult education centre, in addition to art classes at school. However, I was always being told you can’t make a living from painting. Then my father died very early. I had to finance myself and didn't have the courage to study art. I became a graphic designer, worked in advertising for decades, painted on the side. Only when our children were out of the house did I begin a second course of study, focussing on painting.

What kind of an artist do you ultimately see yourself?

I would say I am interested in many things. Interested in people, in nature, in philosophy and religion – interested in the things that shape people. Through my confrontation with a radically shifting world view and the discrepancy between a growing sense of instability and the freedom offered by the new media, I have found painting to be a way of stabilising myself. As a painter I can focus and attain single-minded concentration. I can find myself. Become one. Since I have been painting and drawing for many years and was trained in a broad field of different techniques, I use this great variety to work realistically or abstractly, depending on the topic at hand.

What are you hoping to communicate to the viewer through your work?

The world has become fast-paced. Everything is changing at an incredible speed. So much of it, we only perceive via monitors. My hope is that my handcrafted, haptic images will trigger something in people that makes them stop and take a closer look. They should give the viewer the opportunity to immerse themselves in my art and to dwell awhile at the moment. Unusual subjects and details, atmospheric density – as well as treading the borders between realism and abstraction – offer space for individual associations.

Can you explain the process of creating your work?

I have different ways of approaching my work. One of them is to take an idea that’s in my head and try to express it. To do this, I simply have to begin work and see what I can make out of it with the means of painting. Usually, the basic idea changes during the painting process, because an inner image never remains static. And often it also makes sense to experiment with different techniques to see which realisation comes closest to my inner image. Or I find inspiration in my everyday experiences. These can be very different things: perhaps a detail in a landscape, an interesting constellation of things or people, curious shapes or colour combinations, interesting structures or contrasts. If possible, I capture it with the camera or a sketchbook. Later, creative rework follows in the form of drawings or photo cut-outs, perhaps digital overpainting or collage, which forms the basis for the compositional idea for a painting. When I begin to paint, the creative process takes over and the idea continues to evolve – sometimes very little of the original idea remains.

What is your favourite part of the creative process?

Definitely the implementation phase. That’s the most exciting part. Especially when I’m working with oil paints and oil pastels, it can take quite a while - often weeks - until the colour nuances really come into their own. Or a composition is not yet perfect; then it carries on working in my subconscious. Sometimes I wake up in the early hours of the morning and find that an idea has crept to the surface. I love to observe how every stroke of paint, every application of colour changes the picture – it’s a kind of maturing process. Some of my paintings enter into a very long dialogue with me or even a battle. Then we can only lose or win together. I have painted over some pictures completely – after months or even years.

Can you give us an insight into current projects and inspiration, or what we can look forward to from you in the near future?

Currently, I am still working on the theme of structures. In the biographical notes, I’ve spoken about "Structure of the Traces". At the moment I am working on three different motifs from this series and plan a further three or four in the coming weeks and months. After that, a new theme is calling me: "Still Life of a Harbour". Having grown up in Duisburg with its great inland harbour, this is something I’ve been planning for a long time. I first started working on the themes of the harbour and industry some years ago – the first motifs can be seen on my homepage. I have so many ideas and can’t wait to bring them to life.

Website www.atelier-loerwald.de

Instagram www.instagram.com/marina.loerwald.malerei