Philipp Kneubühler

Having grown up in Lucerne, Philipp Kneubühler now lives and works in Basel. It seems as though memories resonate in his works. Landscapes, plants, and materials such as glass, wood, or earth are the associations his works evoke. A key characteristic of Philipp Kneubühler’s paintings is a strong sense of movement and gesture. A great deal of energy is palpable even in his quiet paintings. It involves a struggle and often repeated layers of application and removal until the desired expression becomes apparent. Some paintings are created with short, quick gestures, while many are built up with numerous layers and reworked multiple times. As a result, the underlying colors only shine through faintly, often blended and barely recognizable. It requires a careful, prolonged look to discover the subtleties and distinctive features. Especially with the large-format works, one must step back and then step forward again to discern the details of the brushstrokes or the scratch marks. Tools and materials are another thematic area that connects the works. Brushes, palette knives, fingers, hands, fabric, or other objects that transfer the paint onto the canvases in their own unique ways. New possibilities are playfully explored time and again.