Helen von Burg

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The Swiss artist Helen von Burg (*1959) lives and works in Basel. She trained at the Basel School of Design (Schule für Gestaltung) (1978-1980) and studied painting at the Brera Academy of Art in Milano (1985-1989). She also received training as a theatre painter at the Stadttheater Basel (1981-1985). While in Milan, she was awarded the Art Prize of the R. & M. Bleyler Foundation in Basel. Since 1986 she has participated in numerous exhibitions and realized public art and building projects. Her work is represented in various private and public collections.

In her work, Helen von Burg is interested the mood which is created by color in space and the relationship between pictorial object and space. Color and rhythm are the main protagonists in her works, whereby the color, material, technique and size of the works vary. The contrasts which develop in unusual and striking juxtapositions of colors and materials are just as complex as the dimensions and the sizes of the color areas. Vibrant reflections are created which cause different elements to take on their own dynamic as the viewer‘s perspective changes, thus creating plasticity and evoking mental afterimages

„Pictures are manifested and condensed perceptions of reality. I do not create a world of forms and illusions, but of forces. It is about an inexplicable reality, a dynamic force, a great silence, a timeless stream of movement that comes to the fore when you turn inwards. Each picture develops its own rules. Overlapping rhythms and color tones lead to ambiguous situations. The conscious experience of simultaneity, relativity and contradictions challenges me and attracts me. Art fascinates when it is filled with power and intuition.“ (Helen von Burg)