Acrylic on canvas;
Signed and dated lower right;
31.50 x 31.50 in inch
The present work “Goldfische” by the renowned Austrian painter Ernst-Ferdinand Wondrusch is a fascinating example of the artist’s masterful interplay between geometric order and expressive chaos. Wondrusch, who studied at the Vienna Academies of Applied and Fine Arts, was awarded the professional title of professor in 1999 and also worked as a set designer in Los Angeles.
In this work, traditional ways of seeing are radically challenged. A multilayered composition unfolds, in which vertical, translucent bands of color in soft pastel tones overlap with dynamic, forceful gestures in bright orange, yellow, and violet. The title “Goldfische” is not conveyed through figurative depiction but through association: the fiery orange brushstrokes appear like fleeting movements drifting through an abstracted, prismatic aquarium.
A delicate, circular incised arc spans the center and elegantly balances the explosive, almost storm-like turbulence of the diffuse grey background. The result is a visually compelling, color-intense key work of contemporary Austrian painting with remarkable spatial depth.
