In his “Creatura” series, Philipp Weber places his models in liquid color: They rise out of lush of green, swim in bright blue or are covered with blood red. Their poses remind of predators or unknown creatures whose unfiltered emotions – strength, aggression or fear – exude something animalistic.
The colors stand as symbols for emotional qualities: green means happiness, hope, nature and regeneration, but also crudeness and poison. The blue of the sea and the sky indicates trust, has a cooling and pain-relieving effect, while red stands for blood and thus for life and death.
Philipp Weber questions the origins of all life: Where do we come from? What are we now? Is our existence tamed by culture and society, or is it still determined by the same animal instincts and needs as with the first humans?
Philipp Weber quotes the legendary performances of Ives Klein, who in 1958 first colored a nude model in his typical ultramarine blue to let her entire body “paint”. Elements from Jackson Pollock’s action painting, in which the canvas becomes a space for acting, are also included.
However, by transferring these approaches into his hyper-realistic painting, Philipp Weber creates an arc of tension between abstraction and coincidence on the one hand and maximum precision and control on the other. Philipp Weber cites chaos as an artistic motor, but in his hyperrealism he tames it with thousands of brushstrokes.