Raphael Reift (*1987)
Mittelholzerstrasse 18
3006 Bern
Education
2007-2011 Bachelor of Theology
Exhibitions
2024 Sihlquai253 (discourse und auction), Coincoin, Zürich
2024 The Glint (group exhibition), Full Circle, Brussels
2024 Format K (inclusive art project), alte Bibliothek, Münchenbuchsee
2024 ETERNAL ELEMENTS (group exhibition), COMPLEX.156, Zürich
2023 Kunstwerkstatt Waldau – BEST OF (group exhibition), Kulturpunkt, Bern
2023 Best Friends Forever with Rohling Incognito (group exhibition), Outside Rohling, Bern
2023 Ulk. Enttäuschte Reimerwartung (exhibition with reading), WABE, Basel
2023 Format K (inclusive art project), alte Bibliothek, Münchenbuchsee
2022 BFF x RI Merry Christmas (group exhibition), Outside Rohling, Bern
2022 Lost Darlings (group exhibition), CRMI, Langenthal
2022 Apokalyptische Phantasien (solo exhibition), Kulturpunkt, Bern
2022 Ausstellung im Dachstöckli (solo exhibition), Galerie Mayhaus, Erlach
2022 Aufgewühlt (group exhibition), Galerie im Kloster, SSBL, Emmen
2022 take ART away 20/22 (group exhibition), ductus Kunstgalerie Café Bar, Luzern
2021 BFF x RI Merry Christmas (group exhibition), Outside Rohling, Bern
2021 Supermarkt by Galerie Mayhaus (group exhibition), Galerie Mayhaus, Erlach
2021 Metaphernbalg im Bildersturm (solo exhibition), Hard-Cover Art Gallery, Zürich
2021 Jenseits aller Regeln (group exhibition), Kunstmuseum Thurgau, Warth
2020 Myceling (group exhibition), Künstlerhaus S11, Solothurn
2020 Reise ins Ungewisse (solo exhibition), Gepard14, Bern
2019 15 Werke von 2015-2019 (solo exhibition), Lehrerzimmer, Bern
2018 Worte suchen ihre Flügel (solo exhibition), Au Chalet, Biel
Publications
2021 Kunstmuseum Thurgau (Hrsg.): Jenseits aller Regeln - Aussenseiterkunst, ein Phänomen. Scheidegger&Spiess 2021
2020 MÄD BOOK LYRIK 5: Raphael Reift
2014 MÄD BOOK 3: Gabrielle Alioth, Daniela Dill, Leonor Gnos, Roger Monnerat, Raphael Reift und Jürg Häusler
Awards
2022 Art promotion award by the Lions Club Zentralschweiz
Collections
2015 Collection Rolf Röthlisberger
Artist Statement
My daily painting practice is an exploration of the unconscious. In a state of flow, I let go and let things happen. I try to rediscover the childlike curiosity, almost like an archaeology of childhood. I am fascinated by children's drawings and try to surprise myself with each drawing, with each painting. I never know what will come out of it or what I am doing while painting. I work in layers. Sometimes there are preliminary drawings or geometric shapes, doodles, experiments with colors and different materials that intuitively come together to form a whole. Thematically, I always try to balance chaos and harmony. The expression between meticulous brushwork and a freer, more expressive style. A perfectionist drive forces me to break out of my own limitations time and time again. I am fascinated by Art Brut and Outsider Art, but also by Karel Appel, Joan Miró, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee.
I find my titles through association. I stand in front of the finished painting and try to find a title that fits for me. It can be a line from a self-written poem or a pop culture reference. The paintings should speak for themselves even without a title. The titles open up an additional dimension of meaning.
Text from the exhibition catalog of the exhibition „Jenseits aller Regeln“
"The Bernese native Raphael Reift studied theology. After completing his studies, he was forced to spend six months in the Waldau day clinic due to depression. It was there, in the workshop, that he began to paint. Since then, driven by a compulsive desire to create, he has worked almost daily with brushes and colors. He complements his self-taught painting with anatomical drawings of the human body and an intensive engagement with the work of Joan Miró, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Pablo Picasso, and Paul Klee.
Reift mostly paints on the floor of his studio, which is also the living room of his apartment, using watercolor, ink, acrylic, or chalk on paper. His early works are dominated by dark tones and highly meticulous line work. In later works, the expression oscillates between the meticulous brushwork and a freer, more expressive style. Reift draws his motifs from his unconscious and visualizes them in images that combine figurative and symbolic elements. In doing so, he tries to let his painting hand guide him entirely.
Animal figures with wide-open eyes, snarling monsters, but also abstract structures are among Reift's most important subjects. In "Nine-Eyed Monster," a fiery red creature with nine eyes and a wide-open maw takes possession of a black, uncanny pictorial space. The golden lines delineate the sharp teeth and precisely mark the outlines and forms of the eerie creature. Although the nine eyes are only half-opened, they seem to be watching everything. The lurking gazes and the gaping jaws create unease. The situation seems threatening and hopeless, as the black image ground does not allow a glimmer of light.
During his studies, Reift also developed an interest in the expressive possibilities of lyrical language and regularly writes poems. His recently published book "Ink Bleeds onto the Page" testifies to his experiences with anxiety. In one of these poems, brief, sharp sentences create a biting monster:
«Shame, your
sharp teeth
drive me away. And:
Here comes the
fear!»“
Source: Astrid Sedlmeier: Raphael Reift, in Kunstmuseum Thurgau (Hrsg.). Jenseits aller Regeln - Aussenseiterkunst, ein Phänomen. Scheidegger&Spiess 2021, S. 228.