Elke Schönberger

(*1966)

The artist Elke Schönberger was born in Vienna in 1966, lives and works in Vienna. She studied journalism and communication science and theater studies at the University of Vienna. In 1987 she started painting and benefited from the acquaintance and artistic influence of the Austro-American painter Henry Koerner.

Nothing could describe Elke Schönberger’s work more inappropriately than the term “photo realism”. Instead of claiming alleged photographic truthfulness, the artist specifically questions it. The extremely precise and extremely lavishly painted pictures actually show a hyper-real image of a world that satirizes reality. The painted interventions range from small alienations in the form of false reflections to topographical continental shifts. The deceptive cloak of the alleged “photorealism” first lets the viewer feel a sense of security before learned reception patterns have to be broken up.

It is no coincidence that the starting material for this cycle, which was created over several years, is the artist’s closest home and thus the environment that she is most familiar with. Here, however, the “home” does not serve as a projection surface for the natural and rural, but on the contrary is mostly the point of contact with the unreal and alienated. The draft images of the Wiental cycle are mostly deserted or show people only as mirror images, statues or obviously projected staffage. The city, but above all the river itself, is using supernatural power to create a fictional urban landscape, where the energy of the water opens up new coasts and creates beaches. Coupled with a mostly demonic light, it becomes clear that this is not about home, but about setting out on new shores, if they only exist in the head. It is high time that the eponymous river of this city found an appropriate artistic representation. Historically, the Viennese have never particularly liked the Danube, which is why this river only touches the city on the edge, is devoid of interesting monuments, but is caught in the center of the cliché industry. The Vienna River, on the other hand, flows right through the city and has been largely banished underground, where it only reports in a subtle way during floods (subway failure and canal smell). From Schönbrunn over the Gürtel, under the Naschmarkt to the Stadtpark, the city center lies on – or just above the – Wien River. And it is time that the meandering liquid penetrates upwards and seeks its freedom and justice – even if only in Elke Schönberger’s cycle. The Wiental cycle goes far beyond the classic city vedute and the modern urban landscape and shows a contemporary picture of the possibilities and impossibilities of this city.

If you would like to buy works by the artist Elke Schönberger online, you will find examples here in our gallery.