ART
Mark van Yetter
Untitled, 2015
Artist Mark van Yetter’s paintings and drawings establish an intoxicating mélange of memory and imagination and strengthened by the understated impact of an array of precedents incorporating the art of ancient times, the old masters, folk art and the history of graphic illustration.
Yetter was born in 1978 and lives and curates his works in Berlin, Germany. Despite extracting inspiration from the varying aspects of rural Pennsylvania, his native landscape, the images of slanting narratives witnessed amid Mark van Yetter’s body of works frequently translate in a pale, illusory state, portraying a whimsical, reverie zeitgeist.
The artist respects the practice of painting as an instinctive and intensely understanding means of contemplating thoughts within a visual language. A common thread weaved throughout Yetter’s artistry is the portrayal of embarrassing anecdotes and illogical narratives, interpreting characteristic motifs and varieties of painting misaligned. For example, viewers of his arts will be confronted with images of pensive lavatory still lifes, remote nudes, supernatural interiors, dignified canine portraits, along with fanciful compositions of looming fountains, vases, fish, and chandeliers.
Untitled, 2013
Untitled , 2015
“When I look at contemporary art I am less affected,” explains Yetter in an online interview. “It could be that this is not overtly concerned with the cerebral. It is intelligent but it is also emotional and most certainly it is untainted by commercialism. I think that’s what I am hoping for in my work. A certain sincerity and truth. I don’t think my work is successful if it requires being explained to be understood.”
Upon initial viewing of Yetter’s works, it appears as though he employs an amalgam of styles, ranging from painting, illustration, sequential story-telling, and many other mark-making practices, albeit the artist does not feel he builds off any specific lineage. Instead, he incorporates a combination of techniques and waits for certain influences to embark on his creative journey. Generally approaching his craft in an intuitive and unambiguous fashion, Yetter prefers not to over-complicate things, allowing his natural creativity to take control.
words by Katie Farley
