Interview with Miro Frei — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

Miro Frei was born 1974 near the small town Aarau in Switzerland where he also grew up. He studied history, geography and german studies at the University of Zurich. He had been working as an artist since 2004. In 2007 he exhibited his medium-size pastel and acrylic paintings in his first solo show at the Kraftwerk gallery in Berlin. 2014 he exhibited his paintings in a show of the art scene Berlin at the Petrus Church in Berlin Lichterfelde. 2009 and 2013 he participated in the Florence Biennale. Then, in 2017, he was invited to New York City to show his paintings at the Artifact gallery. Further expositions in Zurich, Berlin, Innsbruck and near Zurich. Frei’s installation „Dada is growing up” in 2014 at the artclub in Cologne attracted attention beyond the art scene. The works of Miro Frei are represented in collections in Berlin, Cologne, Berne and Zurich. Miro Frei works and lives in Zurich and Berlin.

Could you please introduce yourself and tell us how you started in the arts?

I’m a painter living in Zurich and Berlin. I had already drawn as a teenager, and later, at university, I was looking for a balance to the intellectual work. Then, art became my career. 2005 I discovered Berlin as the ideal city for my life and work as an artist.

How would you describe yourself and your artwork?

On the one hand I paint with acrylic on canvas, on the other hand with oil pastel on paper. I have always tried to leave the ivory tower of art. I wanted to create paintings that appeal to many people. And not just a “l'art pour l'art”. I look for a contemporary expression in my painting. This must be achieved again and again. My motto at work is: In the cosmos, it's first of all black. This must be endured. And only then can individual strokes of colour breathe life into the world.

Painting always means self-exploration for me. Always in search of new forms and new expressions. I am attracted to abysses. When I paint I am attracted by the mysterious and unsaid. It is said that artists are seismographs of their time. Sometimes I think about what this could mean for me, and what I myself have to say at this time.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I let myself be inspired from very different sides. I go through the world with open eyes and maybe one day I take out my camera. Or I record an idea in writing. Again and again I am inspired by art history, especially by Classic Modernism. Or then the “mountain impressions”. It is not difficult to be inspired by the mountain world. Of course, my own experiences remain an important source of inspiration.

What emotions do you hope the viewers experience when looking at your art?

I want to make an aesthetic experience possible. My goal is to seduce the viewer, so that he has to take a fifth and or sixth look at my painting. And so that he can always discover something new. I wish that the viewer begins to travel on my painting and that he makes his own interpretations.

A painting works for me when the viewer begins to travel on it and makes his own interpretations. Ideally, he learns more about himself. When I hear that a picture is getting better every time, I am satisfied. On the canvas I create new worlds. These should make it easier to bear reality.

For me, picture titles are always of great importance. They are additional information and allow a further interpretation of the artwork.

When do you know that an artwork is finished?

With the “flowering bodies” it is a matter of not drawing a single line more than absolutely necessary. Nevertheless, the painting must be coherent and meaningful in itself. A painting is complete when it speaks directly to the viewer and captivates him.