Exclusive Interview with Adrian Buschmann

There is something about Adrian Buschmann’s paintings that captivate me. It could be the texture of his application, it could be the combinations of colour he uses – both surprising and brilliant at the same time, or it could be the beauty of an abstract that draws you in until you get a little bit lost in them. Abstract drawings and paintings are so interesting – you know the forms and shapes as being somewhat familiar although you’re not quite sure how or why. It’s like trying to piece together last night’s dream, but the images are right there in front of you.

I was recently able to do an exclusive interview with Berlin-based artist Adrian Buschmann. We talked about the Berlin art scene, disconnecting himself online, and traveling through Italy. Enjoy the read!

Image above: “untitled” (9), 2005, oil on laquer on cotton,

——————–

Anyonegirl: What are you working on right now?

Adrian Buschmann: I have started working for a show at the Strabag building, set for launching in October.

Anyonegirl: Where are you based and why have you chosen to live and work from here?

Adrian Buschmann: I live in Vienna. It was not really a choice. After I left Berlin with Daniel Richter to work in Vienna I just decided to stay.

Anyonegirl: How is the art community here?

Adrian Buschmann: It is really different in Vienna. Here it is either about partying or it’s about art theory. It feels like you have to choose. Nobody here is painting traditional abstract works. There is no such tradition in Austria since the 1950′s like in Germany with Baselitz, Immendorf – Büttner – Oehlen – Daniel Richter – Butzer. In Vienna there were totally different influences in the art scene post-war with the most famous being from Hundertwasser – fantastischer realismus and Aktionismus. But this was not what you were asking for. I really can not describe the art comunity here. It’s small.

Anyonegirl: Where did you study? How did you find your training years?

Adrian Buschmann: I studied in Berlin. I learned about running and how to bark like a dog.

Anyonegirl: Any mentors you would like to acknowledge?

Adrian Buschmann: Lothar Baumgarten, Bernd Koberling, Leiko Ikemura, Daniel Richter, Amelie von Wulfen.

Anyonegirl: Where do you paint and make your works from?

Adrian Buschmann: Personal feelings. Art history books. Museums. News. Dead and living artists.

Anyonegirl: As well as painting you also use photography and sketching as mediums to make works. As an artist why have you chosen to work with these mediums also?

Adrian Buschmann: Photography is a hobby of mine so it has an influence on my work automatically. Sketching was something I began doing seriously with when I decided to start studying art at the age of 21. I thought it’s stupid to begin straight away with painting – buying canvas and oil colors straight away – I thought that’s really naive.  Also I was too lazy to paint. At that time I was interested in sketches from Matisse and was reading wassily Kandinsky’s “Punkt und Linie zu Fläche.”

Anyonegirl: I like that you are not scared of using colour in your work. How do you go about colour choices, and what do you think it is about people shying away from bright color?

Adrian Buschmann: I choose colors at the same time that I work on a topic, or an idea for an exhibition, or a series of paintings.

Anyonegirl: What is an idea you are currently playing with/thinking about?

Adrian Buschmann: I don’t want to talk about it before I show it in October .

Anyonegirl: What are your thoughts on the importance of a painting’s title?

Adrian Buschmann: It can make the painting better or it can expose it as stupid and naive.

Anyonegirl: How often do you use online as a tool to share work? Is this beneficial to you and your work? Do you have any examples?

Adrian Buschmann: I just stopped posting things on my blog and I disconnected myself from Facebook.

Anyonegirl: Thoughts on how the digital world is used by the arts industry? Could this be improved or monitored?

Adrian Buschmann: It makes sense with photography and text to use the web. But for painting it’s useless. If you want to talk about painting or to just look at a painting you have to go and see it in a museum or in a gallery, or at your mother’s flat.

Anyonegirl: Any favorite blogs/websites you would check daily?

Adrian Buschmann: Faz,  A.c.d., eBay.

Anyonegirl: Can you share a little bit about the process you take to discover new thing, new ideas, new work?

Adrian Buschmann: You wake up and often your eyes and your mind is closed, but sometimes you see something different in your self or in your ideas or in other people. Then you think you have to say it out loud.. Sometimes it works, sometimes the most stupid ideas come out of you that way.

Anyonegirl: Do you have any habits/rituals when painting/making work?

Adrian Buschmann: I paint as long as the work starts to not look as stupid as it would in the beginning …when it starts looking interesting or funny enough for me.

Anyonegirl: Who around you inspires you, and why?

Adrian Buschmann: My gone grandmother and brother, my girlfriend, my friends, and the people I dislike.

Anyonegirl: What is coming up for you this year that you are excited about?

Adrian Buschmann: Travelling by car through Italy.

———–