Holger Kalberg

Holger Kalberg was born in Dinslaken, Germany in 1967. He began painting at the age of 10. His first teacher was Joseph Beuys. He moved to Vancouver in the late 1990’s. He has received formal training at: Chelsea School of Art, 2007, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, 2001, Alberta College of Art and Design, University of Duisburg, Germany.

Kalberg has never been labeled neither male nor female painter in terms of subject matter. He is known for his unique and characteristic treatment of surface and form. Kalberg makes abstract paintings influenced by architectural structure. Kalberg’s work is light. He is focused primarily on process and technique.

Originally Kalberg’s work focused on the relationship between the photograph and the painting. Today, Kalberg’s work results from experimentation with collage made from painted and cut paper. Some collages remain as complete works while others are abstract paintings. This method influenced his current series of imaginary architectural structures that play with space and depth. Apparat 5 is a geodesic dome on stilts. The stilts puncture the ground and, in one instance, seem to cut through it. Kalberg uses taped edges and thin layers of paint to create the geometric shapes.Where Kalberg’s subjects appear delicate and precarious, challenging perceptions of space. Abstract painting is no longer defined by two camps advocating for the hard edge or the gestural.

It’s rare for collage to exclude the external world, and the results are surprising, fresh and contemporary. The symbiotic relationship between Kalberg’s painting and collage practices is complete, as he also creates paintings from collages. Astor is a painted abstract work that echoes the geometric prose found in his smaller collage works. Its interlocking green, black and blue planes could be cutout shapes, and perhaps they started out as such. Kalberg’s work poses a variation of the old adage:

Kalberg’s works are complicated expressions that are both impossible to separate from their historical precedents and completely self-referential. They are made of paper, and as one peers in for a closer look, one sees the intricate layering effect that isn’t evident at first sight. They show all the beginnings, the errors, what has been reworked, and corrections.

Kolberg’s work comments on the history of painting and his influences are evident: Picasso, Braque and early styles of the twentieth century. His latest work is described by him as “apparatus” as they are structures but do not appear in a confined space.

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