Foto: Annette Mück, Mannheim 2003

Biographic Notes

The paintings and graphic artworks of Martin Weyers are dealing with archetypal images, put into a new and innovative formal treatment. The result is a visual language that is able to combine a direct expression of our time with an aura of timelesness.

The artist started drawing in 1983, inspired by Francis Bacon's Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion from 1944. In a conversation with David Sylvester, Bacon mentioned the realm of organic forms, which (though suggested by Picasso) has been left unexplored in the world of modern painting.

In Weyers' paintings, etchings and drawings, the figure appears as an organic or anthropomorphic form, set into a space of light and colour. Recurrent motifs like the spiral or the labyrinth in alternating appearances create an atmosphere of mystery and a rich compound of connotations. Whereas Bacon in his paintings expresses the terror and disorientation of modern life, Weyers searched for a metaphorical language that affords more spiritual depth.

He started studying art history, philosophy and psychology at the university of Heidelberg in 1988. In his investigations of the arts, metaphysics and natural philosophy he hoped to find the material which could be put together to create a new art, that reaches mythological depths and would be appropriate for the age of science.

In addition to his artistic work, Weyers conducts painting workshops and is a working associate of the Joseph Campbell Foundation.

Exhibitions