Henning von Gierke. Goldener Strom / Flowing Gold [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

One of the joys of being involved in the arts is the discovery of names and faces and works that have escaped attention - until a book such as this very stunning monograph appears. Henning von Gierke is no newcomer to art: he has been part of the secret behind the successes of films and theater and opera for years. Werner Herzog and Gierke collaborated on seven films and several operas. He was Production Designer during 'The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser', 'Nosferatu the Vampyre' and 'Fitzcarraldo'. As a Set Decorator he worked on 'Heart of Glass' and 'Woyzeck', as Stage Designer on operas such as Wagner's 'Lohengrin' and Verdi's 'Giovanna d'Arco' and as Costume Designer on film 'The Transformation of the World Into Music'. And if that isn't impressive enough, Gierke also has painted for years in a realistic style that incorporates fantasy and multiple techniques of execution. In this lush volume there is very little in the way of writing. The opening of the book is as fine a introduction by Werner Herzog: 'As if a whole world were to fall into silence before out eyes - that is the effect Henning von Gierke's pictures have on the viewer. it is a silence beyond comparison which fills the rooms; it pours in through doors which open out into corridors; it floods in through open windows, through which whole landscapes loom. It comes from everywhere, this silence; it gathers in the faces of its figures and draws us into this gathering. And it does so with a forcefulness that I only know otherwise in the works of some Dutch Old Masters.'

The book of reproductions of Gierke's work is divided into sections: PICTURES ARE LIKE DOORS focuses on Gierke's hauntingly beautiful interiors of cathedrals, Venetian homes, interiors of homes in Spain, courtyards and gates in Spain and Germany and italy; QUIET LANDSCAPES of oceans and lakes, fields, rivers and beaches each painted with deep respect for the enigmatic moods of nature; PICTURES WITH MIRRORS shares a repeated obsession of the artist - figures with reflections on mirrors on the floors as well as the walls, some as narratives while others are merely 'attempts to look inside oneself'; FLOWER PICTURES OR THE PROMISE OF ORDER is a series of still lifes in the traditional manner an dint he imaginative manipulation of settings bringing the outdoors indoors and vice versa; PORTRAITS are head shots of friends and family and other portraits enter the world of theater so present in Gierke's vision; SLEEPING FIGURES are nudes in both simple and complex settings; SLEEPLESS places the nude figure in nocturnal settings but also share some of Gierke's quiet water lily paintings and moonsets on the water and land; ALLEGORIES is the section that is the most unique for this reader the mot interesting. 'Stories found, ones own and those of others, telling of birth and death, of young and old, day and night, of being asleep ad awake, love and longing, desire and renunciation' are the words that introduce this section. Here are paintings that reference Velázquez, Manet, and Millais as well as reenactments of mythological characters in modern settings; FLOWING GOLD is the last section and is a catalogue for a 2009 museum exhibition and includes the thirty-five part cycle REFLECTIONS - the most ingenious and fascinating group of paintings in the book. In these paintings subjects from one painting are reflected in the next painting which then adds elements that metamorphose into subsequent paintings.

Hopefully this artist's work will be shown in museums in this country. He is a gifted artisan and adds the skill and imagination of creating huge works for theater and film that make his works unique. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, August 10