Interview
Christine Rechnitzer
Christine Rechnitzer graduated from Fashion School Michelbeuern, Vienna in 1987. She is a self-taught artist. She was invited by Friedensreich Hundertwasser to join his masterclass at the Academy of fine arts in Vienna, in 1990. She attended the Lucia Ricelli, Kunstfabrik Vienna and Walter Winter, Vienna workshops in 2022.
Christine presented herself as an artist to the public with her social media launch, including her website in January 2022. Her first exhibition was in Vienna, Austria. Since then, she has had over 20 classic and mixed reality exhibitions in Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Germany, USA and South-America. She won many awards including: Prize PARIS in 2022, 1st Prize DONATELLO 2023 and Florence Prize LEONARDO DA VINCI 2023.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“Ever since I was a child, I loved to paint and draw and had fun expressing myself and letting off steam creatively in a variety of ways. I showed my little works to every visitor, clipped to the clothesline in our garage. That was so much fun!
At the invitation of Friedensreich Hundertwasser, I was a guest student in his master class at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Recently I worked with Lucia Ricelli in Vienna.
After more than 20 successful years in the pharmaceutical industry and in international retail, the path led me back to work creatively, to interior design. The desire, almost the urge, to express my creativity again with visual arts awoke during the lockdown phases of 2020 and since then painting has been a constant and most important part of my life.”
What inspires you?
“My inspiration comes from the beauty of nature, the wonders of life, from encounters, people, music and emotional experiences and states that translates into colors, shapes and textures. The challenge is to come up with imagery that pleases and excites the viewer. It's always fascinating to have a blank canvas in front of me and to dedicate myself to creating a work with all my creative being. Joyfully immersing myself in a state without time and space - that is pure pleasure and fulfillment at the same time. This devotion is reflected in my figurative and abstract paintings, which primarily aim to please the viewer.”
“Life is a dance, dance it your way and even if you stumble or fall just keep on dancing cause life is beautiful no matter what.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“The overall theme is ‘The beauty of life with all it´s possibilities’ and the recent political developments made me roar for ‘love , peace, happiness’ in my paintings. In some of my works sometimes life affirming messages as in the works ‘Follow your heart’ or ‘First trust yourself then somebody else.’ I call them ART-words, on which I write the message I wish to convey to the viewer. The message is very clear: Life is a dance, dance it your way and even if you stumble or fall just keep on dancing cause life is beautiful no matter what. Everything else is a lie.”
How would you describe your work?
“I receive and generate creative energy and transmit this energy to my paintings which then communicate very directly to the viewer. Sometimes at second or third glance. So the descriptive words for my art are communicative, energetic, impulsive, multi-layered, vibrant and colorful.”
Which artists influence you most?
“There is a long list of artists who influenced me, like, just to name a few, Monet, Boticelli, Hundertwasser, Rotluff, Gaughin, Pollock, Katz and many, many more. Influences happen quietly and sometimes we can no longer tell by whom we were influenced at a certain time. But I would like to take the opportunity to emphasize the importance of the contemporary artists from the circle in which I move. There the most lively exchange between artists take place.”
What is your creative process like?
“Well, with figurative paintings there is a basic plan of what I want to create. But still not every detail is planned. I go with the flow, being curious where the painting takes me. With abstract painting it is a slightly different story: usually I do not know where the process of creation is taking me. Being spontaneous and impulsive is my lead here. I dedicate myself fully to the creative force within me and I immerse into a state without time and space, being fully absorbed by this force. It is joy and fun but also exhausting work, but in a good way. Because I have created something with my whole creative being.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“Art is an essential part of our society, and so can be the role of art. It is huge but art has not yet fully grown into that huge role. Art should not just merely be consumed superficially by the viewer, the genuine purpose and when it is perceived as a whole and when you get below the surface, that´s where a precious communication can be started, between the artist and the viewer. Painting brings freedom and as a certified art therapist I dare to say that the acknowledgement of the importance of art in our society has not yet come to the full in this respect.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“The last year has been and artistic adventure with my very first exhibition in Vienna, ART IS A MESSAGE. Other exhibitions include: FRIEDEN -PEACE and FLOWERS.”
