GREGORY FORSTNER
SEO
Berlin, Germany
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Berlin, Germany
Published 03/05/2014 | Updated 16/02/2017
We must admit that this is the most perfectly organized and radiant studio we have visited. „I am unable to work in chaos. If I put something away I don´t want to search for it later. We tear paper into stripes all the time, before we glue it on canvas. This creates lots of dust and therefore vacuum cleaning is necessary every day. I am often asked if I am living here, because it´s so tidy.“
When SEO came from South Korea as...
We must admit that this is the most perfectly organized and radiant studio we have visited. „I am unable to work in chaos. If I put something away I don´t want to search for it later. We tear paper into stripes all the time, before we glue it on canvas. This creates lots of dust and therefore vacuum cleaning is necessary every day. I am often asked if I am living here, because it´s so tidy.“
When SEO came from South Korea as a student she knew exactly that she wanted to study German expressive painting while remaining conscious of her own roots. Since then she has been experimenting with and creating colourful collages made of rice paper. With SEO´s instructions and advice, seven assistants work for months at a time on the collages. When you see them at the first time these assemblages reminiscent of Van Gogh are truly astonishing. We found, that she actually “paints” with paper stripes.
What is it about your studio space that inspires you?
It is close to the airport.
What sounds, scents and sights do you encounter while in your studio?
In silence, sometimes I am listening to House, Classical Music or German Schlager.
What is your favourite material to work with? How has your use of it evolved throughout your practice?
Rice-paper, Metal and Light
What themes do you pursue?
I am interested in the nature of things, which I explore in the topics of Globalization and its consequences, and in cultures' different societies and traditions. I am particularly interested in the power of destruction - out of the perpetual cycle something new is always created. My Collage technique is founded on this thought.
What advice has had the biggest impact on your career?
„You shall never forget, where you are coming from“, Baselitz once told me, when I was his student.
If you could only have one piece of art in your life, what would it be?
„Guernica“ by Picasso, which I saw the first time, when I was a kid. There was a student riot on 18th of May 1984 in my hometown, which was violently countered by the government. The picture by Picasso showed me already back then, how much power, force and world-moving art can be. That impressed me a lot and still does.
If you weren´t an artist, what would you be doing?
I would design furniture or sing German Schlager.
What are your favourite places besides your studio?
In the car on the Autobahn
