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VISEone – A CONFLUENCE OF THE TRADITIONAL AND THE URBAN
by Nick Curtis | CoART Magazine, USA
The city of Koblenz in Germany stands architecturally divided, its old town’s narrow streets and cozy courtyards surrounded on all sides by modern expansions.
As such, it seems an appropriate birthplace for Wolfgang Ohlig, whose visual artistry would reimagine traditional concepts with an urban aesthetic. And while Ohlig was born in 1969, it wasn’t until the late 1990s that his VISEone alias emerged, initially exhibiting his creativity as a graffiti writer. But this shortlived period of his career would be abandoned for musical aspirations, ones that resulted in him being a hip hop DJ and producer with a major record label deal. Though, a decade later, his fine arts side could no longer be denied.
Upon discovering the designer toy art movement in 2007, Ohlig was invigorated with ideas and returned wholeheartedly to a visual medium. By 2010, Ohlig’s VISEone alias had received international attention for his augmented vinyl sculptural forms, transforming mass produced plastics into unique works of art. But, less than four years later, VISEone was prepared for new conceptual challenges, taking the form of his stylized graff iti tags reimagined as abstract metal sculptures. Further peeling his street art aesthetic off of the walls and onto more traditional mediums, VISEone added canvas works to his oeuvre in 2015.
And while it has been decades since VISEone‘s work has adorned a city’s wall, he remains a thoroughly urban artist. One, though, that continues to pioneer ways in which express his aesthetic.
FROM THE WALL INTO SPACE
AN IDEA BECOMES REALITY
by Sarah München
For years there had been an idea shelved within VISEone‘s mind: to peel his graffiti tag off the wall and put it three-dimensionally in a room, making it experienceable from multiple sides.
And this idea became a reality in 2014 when he began freeing the letters from their original forms, reimagining them, and composing them as sculptural works of art.
The basis is often his own alias, VISE, but sometimes the “S” sneaks under the “V”. Another time, the letters stretch out in all directions. And should the “I” disturb the flow, he just discards it.
In the end, these pieces become abstractions, concerned mainly with the beauty and the interplay of forms, colors, and material.
Dominating the spaces they are displayed in, these sculptures can be upwards of 1.8 meters tall and weight as much as 120 kilograms, however – much work is required to create each one.
At the beginning of each sculpture, VISEone draws the characters and then vectorizes them, composing a 3D model on his computer.
A company is then enlisted to use this model, laser cutting the letters out of a metal plate. The resulting form is then bent, rolled, and welded together before fine grinding finishes its shape. To finish the piece, though, VISEone applies final touches, whether it is painting or treatment with acid or something entirely different. In the end, each of these works of art are unique in their own way.
VISEone is one of only a few artists in the world to create ‚graffiti sculptures‘ such as these. And he is recognized for it.
For instance, in 2015 his NO LIMIT! sculpture was exhibited at the world‘s largest urban art exhibition, the UrbanArt Biennale, allowing more than 110,000 visitors to view his piece.
„Writing is a central signet of the urban art [form]”, according to Dr. Meinrad Maria Grewenig, the General Director of the World Cultural Heritage Völklinger Hütte and curator of the UrbanArt Biennale 2015, who finishes his thought by stating that „VISEone makes this writing a three-dimensional event and transform the writing into a sculpture.
With this position, he embodies a remarkable direction of urban art.“
EXPRESSION OF PASSION
by Sarah München
Ever since seeing the film Wild Style at the age of 13, VISEone has been excited by graffiti art.
Immediately dreaming of one-day creating art along these lines, he began to live his dream in the early 1990s. Back then he was equipped strictly with spray cans and his creativity, blank gray concrete façades that he coated with colorful graffiti.
And regardless of where life took him, whether he was a DJ playing to thousands of people or an artist exhibiting his designer toy works worldwide, his love for graffiti art has always accompanied him.
Over the years, VISEone has repeatedly reinvented himself. Having a set technique or style, that was never VISEone and it never will be. Rather, he strives to always experiment with new things and combine techniques.
Blending graffiti with stencils and pop art, his paintings are a synthesis of abstract color surfaces, rasterized photo elements, and tags. Sometimes his large-format canvases reflect energy and life, and sometimes his colors and shapes are very abstract, almost reduced.
Inspiration finds VISEone everywhere, be it in cities, nature, photography, other artists, or his little daughter. And all of these are reflected in his every piece of his work.