Walter Strobl - Perpetuum Mobile

Walter Strobl opens a new chapter in his explorations of the neverending tension between stillness and movement. Strobl´s vibrant nudes capture women in movement: they are there and gone again, letting the pictoral space pulsate with both the presence and absence of the outlines of their bodies. He paints women with a keen interest in the lived experience of the body, avoiding clichees in his depictions. The viewer is excluded from this inner sensation, but it is precisely the privacy of the model`s slumber that permits us to revel in our own proprioception. His cityscapes and still lives tell their stories in a whisper. Fragments of mirrors and stones balance precariously at the edges of the compositions, and exude a palpable stillness. A split second of time stretches unnaturally long before the tipping point is reached, shaking up the microcosmos of the painting, before a new equilibrium settles in. The same heavy silence permeates Strobl`s landscapes: slowly curving rivers or monumental staircases occupy the majority of the canvas. Figures are blurred or entirely missing, allowing these expansive surfaces to claim the viewer`s attention completely, while the bustle of their surroundings remains hidden.