Franco Thamér – A Life Devoted to Art

„For me, art is a river full of sensuality and the inspiration of life.“

 … a harmonic game with forms and colours, lyrically abstract and colourful – many words are needed to describe Franco Thamér's art. His highly expressive paintings are beautiful and rich in personality; they awaken emotions and lure viewers with their magic, passion and energy. And they keep his fans captivated – with their visually communicated stories that lead directly to the colourful life of Franco Thamér. Into a life full of adventure, which constantly guided the artist under the sign of beauty and elegance: as a model, a fashion designer, a life-counsellor, a painter and a sculptor. The paintings, which are often large format, are visualised snapshots, reflecting Franco Thamér's sensual impressions such as experiences of near-death, being engrossed in nature, and diving. They allowed him to create images of hitherto unseen and almost otherworldly beauty. Firmly anchored in his mind – they flow from him, almost as if in trance, translated into splendid colours. And although they arise in moments, which are sometimes tragic, too, they radiate in a metaphysical manner peace and contentment, warmth and happiness. One can feel their inherent power, as well as the somnambulist intuition gripping the artist: they are the quintessence of his complex life with all its ups and downs. They testify to the extraordinary powers of perception and sensitivity as well as the profound inspiration of this exceptional artist. 

Having grown up as the fifth of nine children, Franco Thamér's life was hard and marked by privations. Nature became his refuge – and often his undoing, too. Closer to death than to the realm of the living, Franco Thamér spent several days in an igloo that had collapsed; he spent almost an entire week in Eggerloch, a drip-stone cave, from which he would never have emerged without light. It was only the water trickling from the walls of the damp cave that helped him to endure his plight.

Again and again, he found his way back into a life filled with an intuitive rave of colours. He came to art through the renowned professor Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickl, a famous artist known first and foremost for his animal illustrations. When the professor was looking for an assistant, he chose the young Franco Thamér. In return, the professor acquainted him with the fascinations of virgin nature. Thanks to the many days and nights that he had spent in the forest, he was very familiar with the animals living in the wild, which had lost all fear of him. His curiosity awoken by the boy's descriptions, Prof. Jungnickel also began studying his animals – authentically out in the wild – guided by Franco Thamér.

He constantly encouraged the young Franco to believe in himself and his creative talent and to work consistently on his art. Grateful for these important impulses, the spirit of his former artistic mentor continued to live on in Franco Thamér's heart.

Time and again, the young artist set off – to foreign countries and alien cultures. He embarked on journeys into the wonderland of inspiration, which simultaneously led him to the profoundest depths of his soul. He left his mark in every corner of the globe. He ultimately ended up in Chiemgau, which now became his new home. Back in the mountains and alongside the lake, he felt that he had arrived – home. And it seems as if the adage of the poet Ludwig Ganghofer, from Upper Bavaria, had come true, when he announced: “God lets those he loves fall in this country.”

Franco Thamér's pictures are captivating not only because of their festival of colours, but also thanks to their lively structure, which – created with a palette-knife technique – lends them a sensual vivacity, which animates viewers to delight in touching. Inspired by creative melancholia and driven by an urge to perfectionism, Franco Thamér painted as if in a trance, translating all that he had experienced in nature, or in the aura of a human being, into sensual colours whose effect is both powerful and harmonic. He repeatedly enhances his art with humour and a touch of irony; and it always has an aura of magical fantasy. Marked by extravagant expressiveness, his paintings nevertheless captivate viewers by their timeless elegance and discreet serenity, for their gracious presence gives the soul of the observer all the space and breath that he or she needs. They allow for timeless transitions of special moments. For, above all, Franco Thamér wants to achieve one thing with his art: to spread joy.

And in contemplating his life's work, which is permeated by creativity, Franco Thamér vividly demonstrates – almost in passing – that everything is attainable: we only have to want it to happen.   

Franco Thamér - Presence through art!