Gernot

'Gernot Apart from the fact that he is German (Bavarian), not much is known about him.

Interview

Can you introduce yourself and describe your world?: I am an illustrator, painter and sculptor who works on the most perverse and dark aspects of life. People call me a "fetish artist", but I also work for the Indus and Metal scene, although most of my creations are dedicated to the Bizarre: excessive anatomical proportions, ultra high heels, theatrical makeup, a ton of latex and very tight lace-up corsets.

What is your background ?: I started drawing in school because I was never very interested in what they were trying to teach me there. I've always been fascinated by characters like Kiss, Fantomas, Lilly Munster and Emma Peel, so I tried to draw them. Later, when I discovered the works of H. R. Giger, I bought oil paints and brushes, then I started to paint. By then, my school career was pretty much over. In 1994 I held my first exhibition in Bavaria with huge biomechanical paintings and monstrous creatures. Then I became an avid reader of "Skin Two" during the 1980s, I tried to create my first fetish illustrations. I sent them to many magazines and got good feedback. My first publications were in "Secret", “Twilight” and “Skin Two”. Since then, I work regularly for “Marquis” and “Heavy Rubber” as well as freelance.

From website

The freelance artist, illustrator and sculptor Gernot, born in Rosenheim/Bavaria, lives and works in Landshut near Munich. At the end of the 70s and beginning of the 80s he was impressed by superheroes like Fantomas, Batman, the English secret agent Emma Peel in her leather catsuit or the band Kiss with their crazy costumes. Drawing, painting and modeling have always been his passions, which he first turned into large-scale heavy metal paintings on the cupboards and walls of his children's room.

In 1987 he trained as a ceramist, which enabled him to deepen his skills in mold making and with plastic materials.

After a television portrait of the Swiss dark art artist and alien inventor HR Giger, the decision was made to devote himself mainly to painting. During this time, Gernot was involved in various experimental metal and industrial projects with, among others, "Orgasm Death Gimmick" and "der Ungeist" (guitar and programming). Frightening, large-format oil paintings of mechanical beings were created, which were shown in a first exhibition.

Soon after, however, the artist turned to his preference for the bizarre and unusual, particularly in relation to the female body and the fetish-erotic.

Inspirations from the Dark Wave scene of the 1980s/90s, from silent film and B-movie heroines such as Luise Brooks and Vampira, the 40s and 50s, publications by the legendary John Willie ("The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline"/"Bizarre Magazine"), Bettie Page and the early "Club Caprice" (Cora!) issues led to the first experiments in meat art. Dangerously looking mistresses, buxom pony girls, masked nuns and rubberized maids followed. Fetish magazines like Jürgen Boedt's SECRET and TWILIGHT soon printed his work.

For Peter Czernich's MARQUIS he has been congenially illustrating the fetish-erotic stories since 1997 and has become a regular contributor to the magazine. Since 1998, Gernot has been earning his living as a freelance artist, with logo design, story illustrations, cover art, as well as freelance work and commissions for private clients. Gernot usually paints and draws his bizarre characters with a twinkle in his eye, often exaggerated in a cartoonish way, but always with technical finesse and seriousness. Computers are only used for scanning, retouching and typography, not for creating images.

The intensive work with synthetic resin (resin), silicone, latex and other plastic materials led to the production of some fetish figures in 2002, including for ICONIA.

In 2005 he created designs and molds for bizarre latex products, especially masks, corsets and textured latex. The production also took place in the company's own workshop.

In 2008, after extensive attempts at painting T-shirts and painting screens by hand, he invested in a small screen printing machine in order to be able to produce limited editions and shirts himself in the future. In 2011 his first photo book "Bizarre Gallery - The Art Of Gernot" was published, which was presented in Amsterdam as part of his art show "Rubber, Frills and Thrills" in cooperation with the Sexy Art Gallery, Demask and Wasteland.

"I try to implement my own vision of bizarre sexiness and craftsmanship without being influenced too much by trends, hypes or other fetish artists. There is nothing more boring than copying/repeating short-lived styles. It sucks - at least in my case - many years and occasional failures to find and develop his own style."

Twisted and insane, bizarre and uncanny, darkly erotic or satirically exaggerated - Gernot's "Bizarre Gallery" is a fetishistic vision of beauty and crazy "heavy rubber" scenes, technically brilliantly implemented. His drawings, paintings, and objects range from classic pinup to modern high-tech fetishism.

Otherwise, together with my life partner Helena, I work a lot with wood, plaster and other plastic materials, leather, and above all latex. We build molds for masks, corsets, etc., occasionally custom-made picture frames, leather/rubber harnesses, and occasionally a didgeridoo or a cigar box slide guitar (two top-secret passions...)