After studying economics, Werner Berg lived as a painter and farmer on his Rutarhof in the predominantly Slovenian-populated south of Carinthia. However, like a field researcher, the artist was also tirelessly on the move throughout the country. Everything that was a vibrant part of the annual cycle of the people in his neighborhood captured his interest. In his sketches, he documented what the people around him had created in terms of culture. The numerous, previously overlooked inspirations from rural folk art enabled him to establish a distinctive artistic position in Carinthia within just a few years.