Axel Bottenberg

Sculptor & Painter

Manchester

 

"Along with acknowledging long painterly traditions, with his use of symbolism and grandthemes, Axel Bottenberg also plays with the medium, introducing sculptural elements, retro fabrics and found objects. Combined with his subject matter they create narratives that are at once timeless and contemporary"

Graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1989, his work is, and has been based on pop art in the 1960’s, and its re-emergence 1990 onwards. He draws inspiration from the works of Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Duane Hanson, Jeff Koons, and the German poster artist Klaus Staeck, the Chapmans, Banksy and Shepard Fairey. 
Axel reconstructs  icon imagery and ideas in the form of paintings, 3-D works, and photographs, purposefully choosing ones to provoke strong responses in the viewer. He often uses “low art” iconography such as religious kitsch, tattoo and street art, contrasting creepy and uncomfortable with classic fabrics, golden backgrounds and art historical references.  

"As ideas and icons find their way into my work, I layer images and their meanings into new combinations of visual and contextual significance. (...) I use paints, fabrics and other media to perform specific tasks related to their meaning, using painted texture, tone, brushstrokes, as well as industrial, high gloss surfaces, and metallic finishes.  However, I don’t challenge the tradition of producing paintings or sculpture. My intention is to communicate meaning within the traditional confines of work hanging on walls and standing on floors.(...) I have a long-standing interest in art history, recently in Renaissance and pre-Renaissance work, and the manner it combines meaning and symbolism with observational realistic painting."

 

Web: www.axelbottenberg.co.uk