URTENEN-SCHÖNBÜHL | SWITZERLAND
Irène Meister paints more than just landscapes. She captures the spirit of places marked by time. Her canvases reveal the melancholic beauty of abandoned villas, wind-shaped rocks, and walls quietly reclaimed by nature. Meister’s work blends the precision of a graphic designer with the intuition of an artist, creating spaces filled with quiet but compelling atmospheres. Through layers of color, texture, and careful contrasts, she invites us into a world of poetic stillness, gently encouraging us to sense the enchanting transience of life alongside her.
Your art beautifully merges aesthetics with storytelling. How did the blend between graphic design and fine art evolve in your work? Did your graphic design experience directly shape your style, or did it happen intuitively?
As a graphic designer, creating visual worlds has always felt natural to me. From early on, illustration deeply captivated me. I designed posters and artwork for cultural events and created numerous wine labels for a renowned winery. During my graphic design studies, traditional painting techniques were central; digital tools came into the picture later. This background greatly influenced my artistic expression. Over time, I gained confidence to explore themes more freely. Further training with distinguished artists, both locally and internationally, helped refine my approach. Joining the "Ikonenschmiede Akademie" in Germany in 2022 significantly deepened my understanding of the art world, enabling me to further define and develop my personal artistic direction.
Your work seamlessly combines natural and urban elements. Trees, water, rocks, and abandoned buildings tell a cohesive story. What draws you to this combination, and is there one place that particularly inspired you?
I am deeply drawn to places with special, almost magical atmospheres. Often these are abandoned spaces slowly reclaimed by nature, known as "Lost Places." My first profound experience was at an abandoned villa in Italy. Although empty, the space was richly adorned with murals and ornate stucco, peeling gently to create a haunting yet beautiful effect. Plants had begun to reclaim the interior, inspiring my first artwork depicting such a lost place. Traveling frequently with my husband, our recent journey to Brittany particularly touched me. The region’s striking pink granite cliffs left me breathless. Capturing landscapes and changing weather with my old Lumix camera, I later translated these feelings onto canvas. Rather than replicating photographs exactly, I painted the emotions I experienced. The theme "Immersion in Landscape" resonates deeply with me. While walking or hiking, I consistently feel connected to nature.
Your paintings balance abstraction and figuration, creating nuanced emotional spaces. How do you achieve this balance? Do you start with a clear concept, or is your process more intuitive?
Precision is crucial in graphic design; perspective must be accurate, and realistic elements carefully depicted. Learning abstract painting required additional artistic training. Today, my approach is more intuitive. Certain areas remain abstract, while others are intentionally emphasized. Contrasts are essential, and I use them deliberately. I work exclusively on canvas, preferring square formats (70 x 70 cm). Using a small palette knife instead of brushes forces broader strokes and prevents me from becoming lost in excessive detail.
Occasionally, I appear in my paintings as a silhouette, suggesting presence rather than explicit depiction. Additionally, my series "Roots" explores tree forms combined with imagined landscapes. Sometimes I am fascinated by colors, other times by shapes, such as various moss and lichen forms. These works are created on watercolor paper in a 30 x 30 cm format.
Abandoned spaces and industrial landscapes frequently appear in your work, yet evoke warmth rather than bleakness. How do you personally perceive these places?
These spaces aren't empty; each has a story and unique character, drawing me particularly toward their history. On Lanzarote, alongside a group of photographers, I discovered the ruins of an old winery on a difficult-to-reach hillside. The building, abandoned and overgrown, sat on harsh, barren terrain reflecting past hardships. Yet in the sunset’s glow, earthy hues on the walls blended harmoniously, deeply moving me.
Materials, textures, and your technical approach significantly influence your art. Has discovering a specific technique or material particularly shaped your creative process?
One of my first art courses introduced me to working with acrylic paint on large canvases. I also began using spray bottles filled with water, letting colors naturally blend and flow. Working tone-on-tone has always appealed to me, and organic pigments offer especially beautiful shades. Collage is another favored method. I pre-color papers with acrylics, bitumen, or oil paints, then cut or tear them, adhering them onto canvas with acrylic binder before continuing to paint. My broad knowledge of various painting methods allows me to combine techniques creatively, matching perfectly my artistic intentions.
Your paintings embody a distinctive sense of silence, rich with atmosphere and subtle narratives. Is this a deliberate choice? What emotions do you hope viewers experience?
My intention is to capture the fleeting beauty of these fascinating places, knowing they won't remain unchanged forever. Intriguing details in nature captivate me, and I rarely depict entire landscapes or buildings. Instead, I highlight the elements that resonate most strongly with me. A fragment such as a window view in an abandoned house or the textures and colors of stones. Certain elements are clearly defined, while others remain merely suggestive. This contrast matters deeply to me. I invite viewers to step into these worlds, experiencing their atmosphere together with me.
Irène Meister's art gently reminds us of the beauty found within impermanence, highlighting poetry in abandoned spaces, fading landscapes, and fleeting moments. Her paintings offer journeys through places transformed by time, revealing new horizons waiting to be discovered. Within this gentle, poetic atmosphere, Meister invites us to pause, reflect, and remember that every ending carries the potential for a new beginning.