Esoteric Scenes Unfurl in Gideon Kiefer's Atmospheric Paintings

"Enigmatic landscapes and metaphysical scenes unfold in the work of Gideon Kiefer. On canvas and panel, the artist paints countrysides dotted with small fires, pensive figures, and natural phenomena seemingly detached from reality by varying degrees, such as a wave crashing inside of an architectural enclosure or a chunk of purple-tinted landscape floating inside of a celestial cube. Kiefer is interested in the nature of time and the way we mark its passing."

"At first glance, Kiefer's scenes often present an initial sense of familiarity or recognition, but the longer one studies the composition, comprehension is gradually dismantled. Notes in the margins may or may not feel relevant, like a doodle on the edge of a document. Or perhaps the phrases and numbers are clues to some arcane puzzle, in which Kiefer presents seemingly disparate pieces for us to try to reassemble."

"As sea levels rise due to melting ice caps and weather patterns change due to warmer temperatures-among myriad other effects-ecological changes and disruptions increasingly affect not only the planet's flora and fauna but our own communities. In Kiefer's atmospheric paintings, stormy waves, mercurial skies, monumental icebergs, and intense fires mirror how the planet is transforming. His pieces also consider how we remember both what has already happened to the planet and acknowledge what is happening right now."

Gideon Kiefer creates enigmatic, metaphysical landscapes on canvas and panel that combine familiar rural scenes with uncanny phenomena. His works include countrysides with fires, pensive figures, architectural enclosures containing waves, and floating fragments within celestial cubes. Handwritten notations, marginal scribbles, and numerical phrases appear as mnemonic fragments or puzzle clues that fragment comprehension and complicate temporality. His compositions probe the nature of time, memory, and the act of marking passage. Climate change recurs as a theme through rising seas, shifting weather, melting ice, and conflagrations, with atmospheric imagery reflecting ecological transformation and collective remembrance of past and present planetary harm.

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