Slump by Norbert Bisky

German artist Norbert Bisky admits to using semi-clad gorgeous men to attract an audience. He tells iTALK why they aren't homosexuals, and what the breaking down of a wall had to do with him painting

Thirty eight year-old German artist Norbert Bisky, looks younger than he is, while he animatedly explains the philosophy behind his paintings of modern-day Adonises with super taut bodies. "The one thing my audience should keep in mind is that my paintings do not reflect reality. They are all about living a dream, or a nightmare."

German artist Neil Bisky: I take the airbrushed, beautiful people out of the magazines and drag them into the world of art. That's my job.

Nothing is real

No wonder then that his exhibition is called Cloud Cuckoo Land. And his works do have a sense of dreaminess about them the good looking men, the bright colours, a certain fascination for violence, and plenty of story-telling but in a slightly offbeat way. "I draw from the world around me. Some of these paintings are about the great economical crash the world 'thinks' it's going through, and some are influenced by the works of the Italian artists. If you look at early European art, isn't everybody naked, or at least half naked?" he laughs.

Well, his paintings do fulfill one major requirement. They grab audience attention, and make them stare, if only to take a closer look at the gorgeous men. "That's what I aim to do. I need to get people's attention, and get it now. If you like the men because they look pretty, that's great. I take the airbrushed, beautiful people out of the magazines and drag them into the world of art. That's my job," he says.
 
Homosexuality? No

And then he smiles naughtily when asked if his paintings ever get seen as paintings portraying homosexuality.

"Yes, but that's what they are not about. One work shows two men hugging each other as the world comes down around them. For me, they are brothers, coming together in a moment of tragedy. I had some trying times with my brother this year, and maybe I'm trying to portray our relationship through that painting."

Painting it is

Bisky started painting in 1989, after the Berlin Wall was torn down, and says if it hadn't fallen, he isn't sure if he'd be the man he is. "When the wall crashed, it opened up a world of opportunities. Before that, I wasn't very sure what I wanted to do." He then went on to tutor under neo-expressionist artist George Baselitz, in Berlin and is now regarded one of the most important artists of his generation.

On the eve of his exhibition that opens in Mumbai, he looks relaxed and confident. "It's an artist's dream to uproot his work from its natural environment, and take it to a completely different place to see how it is perceived there. No matter how India perceives my work, I'll take away a lot from my experience here. India will feature in my next exhibition." Tall, dark, Indian Adonis look-alikes? We can hardly wait

Norbert Bisky's exhibition is on display at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, 2 Sunny House, Fort. Till: December 27. Call: 22023030