BENJAMIN BURKHARD. Zwischen Schönheit und Entropie
Our film is dedicated to the painter Benjamin Burkhard, whose work moves at the intersection of digitality and tradition. In his paintings, the smallest units of the digital world – the pixels – encounter centuries-old techniques of painting. Born in 1986, Burkhard belongs to a generation that experienced a childhood without the internet, only to later witness firsthand the rapid transformation brought about by digitalization. This dual experience shapes his art: it is a reflection on perception, communication, and the invisible structures that define our present – the algorithms.
In the interview, Benjamin Burkhard takes us through the creation process of his works, explaining how he builds up the surfaces of his paintings layer by layer. Several coats of plaster form the foundation for silver, gold, or copper leaf, which he applies using medieval techniques. On top of this, layers of paint, water, and chemical reactions create iridescent surfaces in which movement, light, and depth break and refract. From this abstract, shimmering base, the artist develops his compositions: figures, landscapes, and scenes that oscillate between recognizability and dissolution. His goal is to find a fragile balance between abstraction and figuration – between the digital fragmentation of the world and the human attempt to imbue it with meaning.
In terms of content, Burkhard also turns to the grand structures of history: maritime trade, the origins of colonialism, and the beginnings of globalization. His paintings connect past and present, yet at the same time invite an open and often humorous dialogue. “Not everything has to be taken seriously,” says Burkhard – and it is precisely this lightness that opens the way to complex themes.
The film portrays the STRABAG Artaward International 2025 Recognition Prize winner as a precise observer of a networked world in which material and digital realities overlap. It offers insight into an artistic practice that employs historical techniques to question the present – and whose shimmering surfaces remind us that meaning always emerges in the interplay between surface and depth.
The exhibition Between Beauty and Entropy featuring works by Benjamin Burkhard will be on view at the STRABAG ART Site, Donau-City-Straße 9, 1220 Vienna, from 26 September to 30 October 2025.
https://strabag.art/Das könnte Sie auch interessieren
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