Inside the Studio

Hari Beierl’s Expressions of Unity

What are the major themes you pursue in your work?

My major themes in my work are the people on this earth. We are all living on this ball called earth. So it is a big responsibility to save this planet for our childrens. All children of the world, no matter which religion or color of their skins, must unite, to get a better world. I work with symbols like the ladder (awareness), the heart (love), houses (arrows to the sky). I want to paint the infinity, so that the humans notice, how fragile we are and how fragile the world is.

How did you first get interested in your medium, and what draws you to it specifically?

I have been painting in oil on canvas since i was 7 years old. My grandfather was an artist and i learned from him to paint in oil. Every year in the summertime i stayed in his house for 4 or 5 weeks and i was painting. Most of time we made copies of famous pictures from picasso, rembrandt or others. The older I got, the more we also paint my own ideas and impressions of my brain. I paint my big pictures in oil on canvas, and small pictures in water-color.

How has your style and practice changed over the years?

An important turning point in my life and in my work was a scholarship. I stayed for a month in Hungary in a studio-house of an Hungarian artist. I could paint in the studio, i could paint in a wonderful garden. And from this time it begins, that every square inch of my pictures became important for me. Before this, i saw the picture as a whole motive. Now, every little brush-imprint is important for me. The colors were little by little also restricted to the 3 basic colors of red, blue and yellow

Can you walk us through your process? Do you begin with a sketch, or do you just jump in? How long do you spend on one work? How do you know when it is finished?

Sometimes i make sketches for a big painting and sometimes I jump in. But the process follows its own way. Some paintings are going very fast and I am satisfied after 3 hours. With some pictures I spend a lot of time and sometimes the process extends to over a year until the picture has been finished. There is no difference whether I had sketches or not. When the picture is saying to me: “Now i have been completed”, …then my work is done!

What are some of your favorite experiences as an artist?

A first big solo exhibition in different country from germany, namely in milano/Italy was a cool favorite experience for me. I present about 30 paintings and it was a very successful opening-show. A lot of people came and most of them were enthusiastic of my style.

Prefer to work with music or in silence?

I always work without music. I need the peace and silence to feel the totality and to get to my inner inspiration when I am painting. Without any deflection. I also have to be alone when i am painting. No persons, no sounds when I am painting. Just me and the colors and canvas.

About the Author

Evangelyn Delacare is the Associate Curator at Saatchi Art. Need help finding art? Contact her via our free Art Advisory service at saatchiart.com/artadvisory.