Geographically speaking, the term "portage" refers to the act of carrying boats or cargo over land in order to overcome obstacles in the waterways - such as waterfalls or difficult terrain. Brandl is referring to the Canadian lake district where locals do this with their have always practiced this for fishing, travel and transportation. As is customary in his artistic approach, Herbert Brandl consistently discovers inspiration for his paintings and titles within the intricate interplay of nature and human influence, embedded in the landscape and its associated phenomena.

The exhibition Portage brings together new works from the artist's last two creative years. His new paintings are accentuated with the neon colors yellow, pink and turquoise or painted in high-contrast black and white. All in acrylic on canvas, they show the results of experiments with techniques such as airbrush techniques and monotype on canvas. The centerpiece of the exhibition is consisting of four mountain paintings. In contrast to earlier or "normal" mountain paintings, these are worked on a matt black background without gesture. Brandl paints the white mountain silhouettes on a different support. He presses the wet paint onto the blackened surface of the picture and gently reworked it with a brush. This results in small mountain-like elevations that still bear witness to the smearing of the paint. Overall, a three-dimensional character is achieved.