Walter Meyer: Village, Botswana - SOLD
Walter Meyer
Village, Botswana - 2008
Oil on canvas
70 x 90 cm
Signed and dated bottom right
Sold - 2009
Born Carl Walter Meyer, 31 January 1965 in Aliwal North, Eastern Cape
Walter Meyer’s paintings highlight the insignificance and transient existence of man – in vivid contrast to the overwhelming magnitude of nature, where change is inevitable and the old must eventually give way to the new.
Through Meyer’s eyes the remote countryside is for the most part dotted with empty and lonely places. The signs of human drama – of physical and mental struggle, shattered dreams and often complete failure in a hostile landscape – are everywhere: in derelict old houses and bare, neglected backyards, rusted cars, empty town streets and deserted Kalahari plains where the struggle to survive is seen in the crumpled shapes of dry trees and shrubs.
The glorifying effect of Meyer’s exceptional, yet still traditional, brushwork versus his uncompromising and realistic depiction of mundane, and often melancholy contemporary rural landscapes, create a strong tension in his paintings. His loaded brush, saturated colours and dramatic interplay of deep shadows and brilliant, shimmering light, allows him to render the landscape into a visually soothing vista, while at the same time recording its psychological subtexts. Although rooted in the centuries-old traditions of oil painting, this aspect of his art gives it a contemporary edge.
When engaging Meyer’s paintings, the underlying sense of compassion, honesty and truthfulness is overwhelming. Clearly, his melancholic personality allows the experiences of his soul to be amplified by the mood of whatever metaphor he has chosen from his surroundings, intuitively communicating it through his medium.
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To view the artist’s CV click here