Oil on canvas, 170 x 110 cm
In this painting Fernand Roda (*1951 in Luxembourg) takes up one of his main motifs - the reference to landscape - in his typical painting style. He depicts an abstracted forest at dusk, in the time of transition at the beginning and end of the bright day to night. Then, depending on the progression of the twilight, nature offers a typical play of colours ("twilight colours"), ranging from the bright sunrise or sunset to the colourful "blue hour". Roda, however, dispenses with striking optical twilight phenomena, but instead depicts a group of trees just before dark in dull, merging colours that blur towards the end of the field of view. It is not about a detailed depiction of the trees, the flora and fauna in the forest habitat, but about picking up on the special, mysterious and somewhat eerie mood before everything visible becomes blurred in the dark.

Fernand Roda is probably Luxembourg's best-known painter, who has lived and worked in the Rhine metropolis since his studies in Düsseldorf (he was a master student of Joseph Beuys, among others). After a phase of expressive and abstract works, the influence of the so-called "wild painting" (keyword: Neue Wilde) from the 1980s onwards can be easily traced in his works: He paints large-format, figurative, colour-intensive pictures in which the reference to landscape plays a prominent role. His technique, in which he plays with contrasts, connects him with the young generation of painters. Roda is very versatile: Besides regular exhibitions at home and abroad, he also designs CD covers, Christmas and greeting cards as well as calendars for well-known clients.