abendlied - am himmel hell und klar 2017

Editor: This is "abendlied - am himmel hell und klar" by Malte Sonnenfeld, created in 2017 using acrylic paint and matter painting techniques. I am immediately struck by the boldness of the color and the geometric simplicity of the composition. What kind of visual language do you think Sonnenfeld is speaking here? Curator: He is indeed speaking a language of signs, layering modern abstraction over a symbolic foundation that runs deep in the collective unconscious. Look at that single, bright circle. It evokes a sense of watchful presence. Think of mandalas, ancient sun gods, the all-seeing eye. Do you feel any resonance there? Editor: Absolutely. And the jagged mountain peaks—they almost resemble teeth or a crown, both powerful symbols. The contrast between the rigid shapes and textured surfaces is interesting. Curator: Precisely! The texture introduces an element of the earthly, grounding the celestial. In the context of "abendlied" – evening song – does that not suggest a connection between the terrestrial realm and something beyond, a form of prayer perhaps? The linear band across the top acts as a deliberate break in the composition too, disturbing what would otherwise be totalising celestial order. Editor: It's fascinating how the symbols seem so simple, yet the interaction creates so many layers of meaning. It's much more complex than I initially perceived. Curator: The artist harnesses that inherent symbolic power. By using recognizable forms, charged with meaning across millennia, and abstracting their composition, Sonnenfeld prompts us to access a deeper, often subconscious, layer of understanding. Editor: It feels like learning a whole new way to read images, like decoding dreams or cultural memories! Curator: Indeed, we're deciphering a visual syntax coded into the human psyche, made newly potent by this contemporary artist's hand.