HEAD - VOKA - Spontaneous Realism 2023

www.voka.at
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Voka, born 1965, lives and works in the Lower Austrian town of Puchberg am Schneeberg. He coined the term "Spontaneous Realism" as a trademark for his art. Voka defines this style as a revival of the significance of contemporary art, a valued tradition in a new era, with a new interpretation reflecting today ́s spirit of the time. His distinctive style, emerging from the dynamic of the moment, enables him to strikingly capture immediate reality while the observer is able to palpably feel the imbedded movement. His ability to create one of his paintings in a short space of time and with great dynamic, he explained in a very simple way ́I have dealt with painting for a very, very long time in a very slowly and intensively way.`

The basis of his artistic creations is rooted in a decade-long altercation with the art of realism. He researched the technique of the old masters and appropriated them into his own intensive self-study. It was his first contact with watercolour that made him realise that working quickly - which he was almost forced to do when working outside as the colours dry so quickly - could give his stroke more momentum and therefore enormous dynamic. With the discovery of acrylic he was able to allow his solid basic knowledge of, not only the meticulousness and `heavy`art of oil painting but also the `light`and rapid technique of watercolour painting, to flow together to discover and develop his own style of Spontaneous Realism.

If you look in a dictionary for the word spontaneous you will find definitions like, "rising from a momentary impulse without conscious reflection", or, "not apparently contrived or anipulated: natural" or "often surprising for the surrounding environment". Looking at Voka's paintings from this vantage point, makes this newly created expression a more than meaningful description of his work. If one has the opportunity or chance to watch the painter while he is in the act of creating his work, and see – or better, experience – the immediacy, vigor and enthusiasm with which Voka creates his paintings, then this simple expression, spontaneous realism, conveys a defining emotion. And this is exactly the moment where his art begins. Voka's inspirations are the everyday events of daily life, the seemingly hidden, though omnipresent.

"The motif is not the deciding factor for me, but rather my motivation behind it."He tries to capture with his paintings, snapshot-like, the things that touch him, whatever the reason for it might be.The basis of Voka's artistic abilities is rooted in his longstanding creative challenge with the art of realism. This intimate knowledge combined with his technical skills and artistic talent enables him to react spontaneously to the unforeseen. Only those who know the entiretycan reduce it to the essence. It is for Voka like a walk through memory lane, wherein he modifies his memories, intensifies them and arranges them anew until they transform into somethingconcrete. This could be rays of light, a group of people or an inspiring color accent in a specific location. Everything else serves only as a frame that helps accentuate the main theme. Voka's hands are dancing so fast over the canvas that it almost seems like he puts himself under pressure. An imaginary race begins in which the thought competes with the actual act of painting. It is an interplay in which the idea is just a breath ahead of the brush stroke. "Every painting is an impulsive challenge that starts with a first idea and ends with the final brush stroke, and each brush stroke decides over victory or defeat."What attracts Voka is the depiction of the unforeseen.He calls it also a dialogue with colors where pure chance always has a right to answer, too."If I knew in advance how the finished painting would look, it would be too boring to paint it in the first place."

Exhibitions
KUNST 7 - Zuerich / Switzerland - 2019
LOHME ART GALLERY - Malmo/Sweden - 2019
CATTO GALLERY - Algarve/Portugal - 2019
GERALD HARTINGER FINE ARTS - Vienna / Austria - 2018
KUNST 7 - Zuerich / Switzerland - 2018
VIENNA FAIR - Gerald Hartinger Fine Arts - art fair - 2015
GERALD HARTINGER FINE ARTS - Vienna / Austria - 2015
CATTO GALLERIE - Algarve/Portugal - 2015
Gallery Ariel Sibony - Paris / France - 2014
SIRONA FINE ART - Miami / USA - 2014
Novomaticforum - Vienna / Austria - 2013
PGA British Open - Sandwich / Great Britan - 2011
Künstlerhaus / House of Artists - Vienna - 2010

Art Fairs
COFA Colone Art Fair - Gerald Hartinger Fine Arts - Colone 2017
Art New York - Gerald Hartinger Fine Arts - New York City 2017
Art Austria - Gerald Hartinger Fine Arts - Leopold Museum - Wien 2016
Kunstmesse München - Gerald Hartinger Fine Arts 2016
SALON D ́ART CONTEMPORAIN 8 EME AVENUE - Galerie Ariel Sibony - Paris 2016
VIENNA FAIR - Gerald Hartinger Fine Arts 2015
Art Palm Beach/USA - Sirona Fine Art - 2015