Fritz Gerstandt

Back in 1995, Fritz, a good friend of Dirk Rohwedder, accepted his invitation to come to England and paint The Minoan Friezes which now add beauty and life to the Restaurant Servery, Food Preparation Area and Shop. Indeed his task was to fill every room in the former coach house of the Lydney Park with colourful ornamentation. In just 4 weeks he created all the interior decorations on the theme of the Minoan culture, an apt choice for a friend developing a new social enterprise in the field of arts and crafts. Today the works, depicting mythical creatures and a glorious procession of artists and craftspeople still provide a daily uplifting reminder of the essential nature of Taurus Crafts. Indeed Fritz painted the picture of the bull, with acrobats gaily and confidently cavorting over it, in praise of the Minoan’s freedom of spirit in art.

Committing his images directly onto the walls of the rooms, Fritz painted them as a visual expression of the love of skill, creativity and life that forms the core of the Taurus Crafts’ vision today as much as the Minoan’s of yesteryear. More recently Fritz’ art has taken him in a direction that explores drawing in a less planned and pre-conceived way. His paintings are more spontaneous, revealing subtle layers of meaning arising from a direct, almost meditative application of his raw imagination. He quotes J.J.R.Tolkien, the great master of imagination, to describe the process: “Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit said once, that it is a serious and dangerous thing to put your feet outside your front door, because you never know where they will take you.”

He now begins his work by taking his pencil for a walk in an unassuming and playful way. And before he knows it he is ‘inside an adventure, on a one-man expedition to some undiscovered land, descending into valleys, crossing fast rivers, strolling through fragrant meadows, climbing the peaks of rough mountains, sometimes even loosing his footings and falling off, then flying through the air with good wind under his wings, or sailing the seas, round cliffs he never knew existed.’ In all of this he forgets space, time, even his self, emerging ‘tired, exhausted, joyful from the deep sea’, and he beholds in front of him a sheet of paper, covered with the wholly inconceivable, with travel notes from places where words and concepts have no home. Today Fritz works extensively promoting our understanding of fairies, having been their friend for many years. He knows exactly how to assist these beings to become visible to all humans, at least on paper. It is this friendship which gives his fairy paintings their great authenticity.

Born in Germany. Grew up on a small farm in very rural and idyllic landscape of Schleswig Holstein in the north of Germany Studied social pedagogy before enrolling on graphics degree course at College of Applied Art in Kiel where he studied under Fritz Bauer and Eckehart Thieme At college, undertook several study trips to British Isles (land of the fairies) and to Italy Several exhibitions in Kiel Has created imaginative interior and exterior designs for a number of commercial and private clients, including restaurants, casinos, swimming pools and museums Now lives and works in Hamburg. Specialises in large-scale architectural paintings, graphic illustrations and sculpture