Herbert Brandl: Katana

Herbert Brandl, considered one of the noted figures of the Germannew painting movement of the 1980s, continues to make work of ahighly personal and affective nature. Immediately following the openingof his exhibition of monotypes at Vienna s Albertina in 2010, the artistunderwent emergency surgery due to an acute aneurysm. In the monthsand years since, Brandl has used his painting to meditate on the violenceand physical pain of that experience. In this new publications, featuringBrandl s latest series Katana, reproductions of his lush abstract colorscapesare juxtaposed with images of Japanese samurai swords. The folds ofthe steel katana blade begin to resemble a mountain panorama, whiletraces of the scalpel and the violence done to the artist s own bodybecome emotionally present in the paintings themselves.