Peculiar

Image Interpretation

"Eigenartiges" (Peculiar) shows a group of expressively indicated human figures in an enigmatic encounter – a composition held in shades of gray and black, which gains special energy and impact through the vibrant purple-pink of the central figure. Ri Meuser's mono-sgraffito technique creates a graphic vividness through the precise scraping away of pigment layers, allowing the scene to hover between dream, ritual, and reality.

Atmosphere & Effect

The figures appear simultaneously strange and familiar, generating an emotionally charged tension that captivates the viewer – a sense of recognition coupled with alienation, which Ri Meuser understands as "the peculiar" in humanity. The strong contrast between the impasto, dark background and the luminous pigment accents creates a drama typical of Ri Meuser's figurative works from the 1970s.

Background & Meaning

The enigmatic group of figures bears traits of archaic representations, which Ri Meuser drew from her encounters with shamans on the American West Coast and from the study of Etruscan funerary art – beings on the threshold between worlds, between the familiar and the intangible. The work was created in 1976 during an intense creative phase in which Ri Meuser fully developed her unmistakable visual language of symbol-laden figures and deep-spatial sgraffito technique.