Organic Figure – A Fruit Art Collection

The ingenuity and creativity of nature is exceedingly exhaustless. Shapes and colours, odours, tastes and structures are as diverse as they are countless. Even in a thousand lifetimes one could never explore or even only marvel them all. However, once you have stepped across the threshold to that world, it will entwine you. You will lose yourself in miraculous sights that you have never seen before – simply marvellous.

Harald J. Braun has opened this door for just a tiny glimpse but has already captivated the first specimen – with tripod and camera. At first sight the objects he produced appear somewhat inconspicuous: there are peppers and tomatoes, lemons and beetroots, potatoes and the odd exotic fruit. Most of us deem them familiar, we taste their flavours, we feel their sensation. But do we really see what they look like?

The works from the series “Organic Figures” convey sensual poetry through objects on a plain white square, liberated from any kind of f additions. The artist explores the true nature of things, the hidden character of his objects. “Closest-ups”, some of the whole fruit, some of a sliced partition uncover structures full of playful, frisky wonders. One begins to wonder: is this really a tomato, a beetroot or an orange? Indeed the entire cosmos of the object has been elevated onto a visual level that takes the observer to a reality that he had not yet encountered – vivid yet graceful.

Harald J Braun’s works are reminiscent of Edward Westons classic photography. In 1929 Weston began to produce downright nude portraits of fruit and vegetables. His naked peppers gained worldwide recognition and critical acclaim for their sensual erotic quality. Their influence on photography remains significant to this day. ❚