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1951 Tragwein/Upper Austria – 2003 Vienna
- Title
- „The Vale II“ (Mauritius)
- Time
- 1996
- signed
- titled, signed and dated verso "G. Mairwöger 1996"
- Technique
- oil and aluminum powder on Molino fabric
- Measurements
- 43⅓×29½ in
illustrated in: B. Mairwöger: Gottfried Mairwöger, Vienna n.d., p. 215.
“The Vale II” was created during Gottfried Mairwöger’s first painting residency in Mauritius. From 1996 to 1997, the acclaimed Color Field painter lived and worked for several months on the tropical island in the Indian Ocean. The island’s diverse landscape and rich cultural environment, together with its entirely new chromatic world, profoundly fascinated the artist and inspired a distinct body of work defined by an especially intense palette. “The Vale” refers to a small settlement in the northern part of the island. Set within a broad, fertile plain beneath an expansive horizon, the village is particularly known for its sugarcane cultivation.
The application of aluminum powder – used by Mairwöger in a highly diluted form – introduces a silvery, reflective texture reminiscent of the brilliant tropical sunlight, revealing new nuances within the characteristic chromatic range of this period, including Indian yellow, orange, and ultramarine. This subtle metallic effect was employed only on rare occasions; the known examples are confined to works from 1996–1997.
In 1998, Mairwöger reflected on this formative period: “My painting residencies in Mauritius were guided by the motto: I paint because I want to see. The pictorial spaces emerge through a luminous brightness generated by the flowing light inherent to the nature and culture of this region. Background and foreground interpenetrate. Lightness and density arise simultaneously.”