07 march 2023, Wouter van den Eijkel
The studio of... Eva Räder
Eva Räder's second solo exhibition at dudokdegroot is called Golden Hours. The title refers to a song by Brian Eno, in which he describes the state of mind in the moments when night slowly gives way to day, and vice versa. Because of that slow change one can take a little distance from the moment and have a better overview of life. A text that connects seamlessly with the work of this Berlin painter who likes zoom in and out and connect thing that seem unrelated at first. She incorporates them into paintings that contain the beginnings of a story, but give the viewer the space to interpret them themselves. Golden Hours can be seen until April 1 at gallery dudokdegroot in Amsterdam.
Where is your studio located?
My studio is located in the north east of Berlin. When I moved there 15 years ago, it felt very far out, now after gentrification it feels pretty near to the city centre, everything comes closer and the fringes of this town are becoming more and more fluid.
Eva Räder, Woman in field (turquoise hair), 2022, galerie dudokdegroot
Do think of it as a solitary place, where you can work in utmost concentration, or do you welcome friends and visitors?
My studio is a very solitary place, which mostly means pure luxury. But nearly the same importance has the fact that somewhere in this huge studio building where my studio is, are some painter friends who are there if I need them or whom I can be there for if they need me.
Of course, once in a while I also love to welcome visitors from outside, this exchange almost always leads to something very positive and fruitful.
Your show at dudokdegroot is called Golden Hours, what does that title refer to?
One day in the studio I couldn’t stop listening to this song “Golden Hours“ of Brian Eno. There was something in the melody that struck me. Also I found the lyrics very poetic and near to my painting. It describes a state of mind of a human being, who is focused on this intense point, where many experiences meet in the now, during a moment where things change, for example from day going to night or night into day, in those moments you can maybe zoom out and get a glimpse of how to see a wholeness where opposites are united.
Eva Räder, Twins, 2021, galerie dudokdegroot
In your paintings you examine the border areas between your inner and outer world. Where does your fascination for this subject come from?
I like to zoom in and out, exploring things and putting things in relation, for example, I compare the skin of a cold, hot chocolate and a huge formation of mountains and I want to find the point where they are connected to each other.
Sometimes one is stuck to an idea like a dog to its bone, then there is the beauty of the possibility to observe, take a step back, see both sides or put things in smaller or bigger connections to be able to think things over or find another view point. This way of behaviour makes us feel alive. I find beauty in this way of humans going back and forth and weighing which connects us all and therefore I want to translate it into painting.
You were trained by none other than Daniel Richter and Georg Baselitz. What were the most memorable things they taught you?
Remembering those great artists who were also my teachers is like walking around in a museum, looking at fantastic paintings whilst each painting has a different taste, story or melody. In this „museum“ I also see all of the other brilliant teachers I had later on, for example in the deAteliers in Amsterdam, but also I see artists I have never met or who lived hundreds of years ago but still gave me something, standing on giants!
If I would have to say one thing about just those two you mentioned, I would say both of them simply taught their students how and that you have to be very focussed and strong to create your own personal point of view in painting.
Eva Räder, Horses, 2019, galerie dudokdegroot
Your work is abstract enough to be open to interpretation. Yet, it has narrative elements to it as well. Are there moments you are surprised by viewer’s interpretation of your work? And what the most interesting one you heard?
I am most surprised when people come to my studio and think I have changed a painting which I haven't at all. Each time that happens I can see in this that the view and mood of the beholder is changing every day and therefore his or her perception on a painting changes.
The more "open" a painting is, the more it can mirror and show this process in the beholder.
The ideal painting for me has got this “aliveness“, that means it is never standing still but gives new insight and views to the beholder every time. I can live with it for years and still discover and see new things and connections in composition and color, just like in the real world.
Besides painting, is there any other medium you would like work or experiment with?
In the past, I worked with nearly every medium, what I love very much besides painting is drawing which is the base of painting, and making collages, or working with clay, which is, maybe even more than painting, directly connected to the interaction between the human brain and hand.
Eva Räder, White Bird, 2022, galerie dudokdegroot
What are you working on right now?
I just continue painting. The topics and ideas I use are starting points, I want to keep them as open as possible so that they don't limit me in any more way as needed, but give me the best possibility to be able to reach the best result that can happen for the painting. I need to feel the right energy during the painting process, it's a journey where I focus on finding great compositions and colour or texture combinations. I try to stay as free as possible, but the centre is the poetry of the human experiencing the world right now in one point on the line of time, in multiple ways.
