Dreaming into the Distance – Otto Niemeyer-Holstein – Pictures of the Sea / In die Ferne träumen – Otto Niemeyer-Holstein – Bilder vom Meer
“In the 1950s, Otto Niemeyer-Holstein’s painting gained such strength that it was perceived as a cornerstone of humanistic art in the GDR, on a par with the works of the Dresden artists Rosenhauer, Kretzschmar, Wigand and Glöckner. A special achievement of Niemeyer’s painting is the depiction of the Baltic Sea coast, which goes beyond any homeland pomposity. The painter has given his best in these pictures. They show Niemeyer-Holstein at the height of his ability. The impression of nature is perfectly translated into art in such pictures, which seem like a high school of painting. The motif is spiritualised in the language of colour. Although the observation of nature remains visible, the object loses its representational directness in favour of a statement in which a subtle spiritual interpretation dominates. This painting, inspired by the border world between land and sea, points first to itself and only then to the object it represents.” (Prof. Dr. Lothar Lang in “Malerei und Grafik in Ostdeutschland”, Leipzig 2002)
Image: Otto Niemeyer-Holstein The Wave (Clouds and Sea) 1960, oil on canvas, mounted on hardboard, 39.3 x 50.0 cm, WV No.:1141a, property: Kunsthalle Rostock
