Untitled 038

Man lying on the floor in vanishing point view. To his right is a curtain. The painting is consistently white tones because of the special medium used (buttermilk).

In their series of reverse glass paintings using buttermilk, Simone Eberli and Andrea Mantel create a dialogue between painting and photography. According to the artist duo, the paintings are made “in quick, loose strokes. They are constellations reminiscent of relaxed everyday situations, of snapshots photos. Almost somewhat dazzling, as if one were looking directly into the backlight. Depending on the light, they can only be fully apprehended from a certain angle of vision, leaving a fleeting impression entirely in keeping with the theme of the photographic snapshot.” There is a correspondence here between the fragility of the glass support and the concept of images framed as fleeting snapshots of everyday scenes, captured on glass using buttermilk, which is also a medium unlikely to last forever. Painting with milk is not a new invention. It is well known that frescoes and panel pictures were painted with casein paint (derived from milk protein) until long after the invention of oil paint in the 15th century.

The artist collective Simone Eberli (born 1972 in Altstätten, St. Gallen) and Andrea Mantel (born 1966 in Leonia, USA) live and work in Zurich. After studying at the Höhere Schule für Gestaltung in Zurich (1992-1997), the two artists trained at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf as guest students of Prof. Rosemarie Trockel (1998-2003). In 2000 they began a close collaboration in which they explored different approaches. They used various media with a focus on staged photography, video art and drawing. They have been awarded several prizes for their artistic work: Siegerpreis, Kunst und Bau, Pfäffikon (2004); Ernte Kunstpreis, Credit Suisse, Schaffhausen (2007); Res publica, Kunst und Bau Preis, Zurich (2007); UBS Preis, Schaffhausen (2007) and UBS Award, Zurich (2008). They exhibit regularly in Switzerland and abroad and are represented with numerous works in public and private art collections, including Julius Baer, Credit Suisse, Canton Zurich, Kunsthaus Zurich, Canton Schaffhausen, Zürcher Kantonalbank and others.