It all started in the circus, including painting.
Rolf Knie made contact with artists at an early age who introduced him to painting.
For example, Hans Falk, who accompanied the circus in the late 1970s for several years and documented life on the tours, taught him the basics of drawing and watercolor painting. Knie’s early childhood drawings already show the overflowing imagination of a young person surrounded and inspired by countless magical things.
“When I was bored in school, I would make sketches that I then finished at home. It caused me trouble when I was more interested in my sketches than in the lessons the teacher was trying to teach me.”
Rolf Knie finds his subjects in front of the circus wagons’ stairs or near the horse stables and the cages of lions and leopards. He observes and portrays clowns and acrobats just before their performance. He is also fascinated by the technical details of ropes, trapezes, spotlights, and artist equipment. “My focus wandered across the entire circus grounds. I painted it from the inside and the outside, at all times.”
Zwei Pferde im Stall, 1983
Aquarell auf Papier, 22 x 33 cm
Rauptierpostamente, 1985
Mischtechnik auf Papier, 27 x 37 cm
In 1980, Rolf Knie sold his first painting at his solo exhibition at the St. James’ Fine Art Cabinet in Zurich for 600 CHF. The 1977 watercolor depicts a fleeting, almost solitary snapshot far from the bustle of the circus ring.
Before the headquarters of the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung," Circus Knie sets up camp. Here and there, a few tents, enclosures for the animals, and the accommodations of the performers and acrobats. The scene appears idyllic, at times calm and deserted. A quiet, melancholic impression; also remarkably precise in its painterly execution. Almost documentary and illustrative. The reduction on one hand, and the focus on the essentials on the other. One might gain a quiet impression of the atmosphere when the curtain falls.
Before the headquarters of the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung," Circus Knie sets up camp. Here and there, a few tents, enclosures for the animals, and the accommodations of the performers and acrobats. The scene appears idyllic, at times calm and deserted. A quiet, melancholic impression; also remarkably precise in its painterly execution. Almost documentary and illustrative. The reduction on one hand, and the focus on the essentials on the other. One might gain a quiet impression of the atmosphere when the curtain falls.
Eight years later, Rolf Knie successfully bids for the very same painting at an auction, purchasing it back for 6000 CHF. "It's like your first girlfriend – you never forget her. You want to preserve it."
Tiger im Käfig liegend, 1983
erste Lithographie, 50 x 66 cm
Elefantenparade, 1981
Aquarell auf Papier, 33 x 32 cm
