Archaic Art by Thorsten Poersch

About Thorsten Poersch

Studied art and art therapy in Bochum (1999) and painting at the University of Dortmund (2002). He was a master student and friend of Prof. Wilfried Polke, Düsseldorf. The archaic element that can be found in Polke’s work as well as in Emil Schuhmacher’s Tachism had a lasting influence on Poersch.

He works with all kinds of materials, including acrylic and pigments, preferring earth tones , which he uses skillfully.

Through the multi-layered treatment of the surface, his pictures are reminiscent of landscapes, mountains, mountain ranges and walls with peeling plaster that have become cracked and full of holes over time. The result is pictures that have an archaic beauty . The holes and grooves in his works, in their arrangement, symbolize natural processes of time such as weathering, calcification and moss growth.

Just as old, weathered walls tell us about the past and express the change and transience of material with their patina , Poersch’s unmistakable artistic signature can be found in these material pictures. Looking at his often large-format pictures requires meditative mindfulness on the part of the observer in order to trace the subtle nuances of the complexity. In addition, the conscious use of colors is an important factor in intensifying the effect of the image composition.

You can look at these pictures again and again because they exude an aura of timelessness and archaism and give the impression that they have always existed. Poersch works in series that usually consist of four to six works.