FACING NATIONS
Inspired by the idea of “giving a face to the people”, the “ORF-Artist in Residence“ Oskar Stocker has succeeded in capturing 124 people from 124 nations/territories – living in the city Graz/Austria – on his sketch pad. Based on these, he created large format oil portraits in his studio, which he then combined into a unique monumental panorama of humanity.

Oskar Stocker met with each of these representatives for an intensive dialogue. These meetings were accompanied by a small team from the Institute for Sociology of the Karl Franzens University, Graz, which thoroughly documented each individual life and immigration history.

"Out of sheer joy of painting, I have created my peaceful world, in which all persons can meet each other eye to eye. FACING NATIONS is an exciting trip around the world – a journey of discovery. Art is my way of showing what kind of coexistence is also possible.”

Oskar STOCKER
Artist (born 1956, lives and works in Graz/Austria)