If You Believe Then It Exists

One can state that Ove Büttner's artistic world is an oasis of harmony within the schizophrenia of contemporary art. Why not! We really find here neither glamorous gesture nor stressed ambition, but a thorough synthesis of traditional painting brush techniques - from glazing to pointillism. This effects the result of the painting - colours and tones on his canvases are communicating and merging with each other with sustained smoothness, reaching from frail tenderness to vivid colours contrast. The latter does not bring along a visual conflict at all, antipodes stay in peaceful balance on the canvas. Even more, apparently complete devotion to the painting colouring seems to leave no room for temporal pressures that still should affect the painter. Juggling at the same time with different brushstrokes, Ove Büttner seems to demonstrate absolute ignorance of both his individual style and towards the developing an attitude on life. As a medium different perceptions are mediated differently. Still, Büttner is not a dependent mediator, on the contrary - even his most different canvases are connected with each other with their sharp avoidance of clearly recognizable illustrativeness and figurativeness. Usually the ruling general impression is an over-powering shapeless colouring and tonality.
At this moment one could finish the present article, if Ove Büttner's "complete devotion to the painting colouring" was really complete. Unfortunately, it is not so. Brainless colour idyll will break as a bubble, if a viewer, having been overwhelmed by anxiety, bows to read the titles of Ove Büttner's enormously large canvases. Subconscious premonition turns out to be true. The subjects of the paintings are far from being as innocent as one could think from dreamy colouring - "The War Between Animals and Birds", "Demon", "Candle Blower", "Blue Demon", "Dragon Slayer". Additionally, there are several paintings the titles of which do not express their tremendous internal intrigue so clearly - "Golden Hill", "Arearea", "Home-coming" and others. This, not understood by a superficial viewer, will concretisize in a more sensitive nature as a concrete subjective truth - balanced colour harmony in Ove Büttner's paintings is a "hypocritical" curtain. Behind it one can find thematic acuteness, sensitive attitude on life and even passionate social criticism. Unfortunately, only those who themselves feel the lack of harmony in the surrounding life are able to follow it. Or, in other words, only the viewer's personal experience of the conflict of social life, people becoming tramps and the triumph of "wolf's morals" makes it possible to recognize the same pressures behind the colour games. The painter's spiritual conditions only open to his adherents, for those who also feel the pressure. He who is satisfied with himself and the world will see in Ove Büttner's paintings only the delightful colourful chiaroscuros varies by more vivid spots of colour. And for sure, he is delighted by the sparkling of the abstract colour harmony.
Behind the colours unrolls a myth, a legend. This is Ove Büttner's secret spontaneousness. He calls forth a nightmarish mosaic. Here he points his finger and disdains. "Arearea" is a huge canvas in pastel shades, which could bear the subtitle "Yesterday I saw Estonia". The key to understanding the work is a small fragment in the middle of the painting - the vision of a huge whirling shashlik in the middle of bonfire smoke and grease - the banal degeneration of high ideas (spire) for the devision of political pie (meat). Above the small match-high flag-staffs assist with slackened flags (abandoned ideas). Between the spire and flags a violet phantom (evil, darkness) stretches his hand with a ring (power) to a low flickering candle (the beginning of the end) - the power of darkness overwhelms the light. Above all floating diffused profiles of notorious politicians separated from the background by delicate colour shades and below all, also nearly invisible, groaning figures of bent martyrs do not need any comments. On the bottom right corner of the canvas a fatal hunchback stretches his hands - if you believe then it exists.
Let us go further. "Golden Hill" continues the similar tone that concerns colour selection and softness. A huge canvas again, on which mountain-high gold (golden calf) dazzles the eyes of a viewer with its brightness and tempting brilliance. The shine still glamours only its idolaters. A seer will soon notice a monstrous face sneering death in the middle of luxurious variegation. But nobody believes it. A war breaks out. "The war between animals and birds" for the golden hill. The sneering phantom is incarnated into a real death bringing "Demon" who prepares for the "candle blower's" arrival. The latter arrives. The canvas's darkish brown (degradation, dissolution) colouring and bright-dark tumbling dynamics (chaos) clearly shows the result after blowing out all candles.
The artist, having been tired of the feeling of distress, craves for perfection at least in transcendence. The heavenly envoy kills the dragon in the bright colour haze of "Dragon Slayer". "Resurrection" and "Engagement" offer the reflecting redemption with dull golden glowing (raising Christ) and fragile female figure (engaging Virgin Mary). The evil (Roman soldiers on the first picture) has here fallen into absolute lethargy or is simply repelled to the edge of the picture. Unfortunately, this Apocalypse is unreal, the redeemers are leaving as astral bodies into pea-soap fog.
There is still enough amount of visual beauty closer, too. Triptych "Summer", "Paris", a lot of golden glimmering nudes - despite of the absolutely different brushstyle, they a connected by the genuine and delightful joy of pure intensive colours. Naturally, one cannot again find a realistic base here. Beauty still remains in the eyes of the viewer.
A cross-grained viewer-reader still wants to ask: why does O.B. hide "our common problems" into soft misty veils and peaceful colour ensembles? Why not, one could ask back. Why should the artist shout into a spectator's face all his illnesses and pains? Particularly when after the recent boom of expressionism everybody has an allergy against all kinds of gobbling and blustering. O.B. is discreet, he gives everybody what he owns. For him who believes, exists his spiritual scenery, who does not believe, should satisfy with coloured dreams.