born 1985, lives and works in the District of Berchtesgaden, Germany
1997-2002 private artistic support by sculptor Karin Wein
2004 College for Design and Composition in Augsburg
since 2005 free-lance artist
2014 admission to Derix Glasstudios, Taunusstein, Germany
About my work:
My most important teacher is nature herself. In my paintings I combine very different aspects of life: light, nature, colours, patterns, temperature, emotions, people etc. It is my goal to create through my art a reflection of life which makes life visible, even tangible and vivid – soothing, elating and invigorating.
Since I was 19, palette knife, squeegee and rubber blade have been like my third hand. With this non-object-related way of painting I can express and compose my own view of life and make it accessible to others. This requires maximum focus and an ongoing conversation with the artwork during the process of creation.
Numerous regional and inter-regional solo exhibitions for example:
District Exhibition in the Upper Bavarian Government; Derix Glasstudios; state-run Casino, Bad Reichenhall; electoral district office of Dr. Bärbel Kofler, Member of the German Bundestag; Old Brewhouse, Bad Reichenhall; St. Margaret Chapel (in St. Peter), Salzburg, Austria; Polaroid (Impossible) Store, Munich
Invitations, for example:
2006 German-Polish Symposium in Belchatow (Poland)
2009 Art in public spaces – Art by the river (Hammerau Art Mile)
2011 Guest Lecturer on New Media, Eichstätt University
2015 Hope Culture, Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart
2017 “Not only stained glass windows“, Centrum Dziedzictwa Szkła Krosno (Poland)
2018 Guest Artist, Incarnate 2018 (OM Arts International), Isola del Gran Sasso (Italy)
since 2006 guest artist at different state schools
Public acquisitions:
International Apostolic Hojskole, Kolding (Denmark)
Town Hall of Mitterfelden (Germany)
Member of German Bundestag Dr. Bärbel Kofler
Archabbey St. Peter, Salzburg (Austria)
In the studio:
The composition of my paintings – that is the unique feature of my work. It has become a habit of mine to put layer upon layer in a very particular way.
Imagine the different components of a house: foundation, walls and the roof, and finally on top: people.
Layer number 1 is the foundation; earthy, patchy, dark, exactly what “natural” means, just like our environment or a current situation in our lives. As a second step, I paint the basic colours, my walls and the roof, stabilizing the entire work. I decide which way the work will go as I desire to guide it into a certain positive, clear and beneficial direction. Layer number 3 is the last and probably most difficult phase. When interior design is being finished, everything is neatly polished, light comes in and the place finds its true identity. To me this phase feels like kissing joyfully, tenderly, intimately, overwhelmingly… I have a vis-à-vis… I feel my heartbeat. Now I am dealing with something living as it were.
In this phase, I am fully and completely aware of all previous layers. By a coordinated process of letting the colours dry I bring some of the old layers back to the surface again, connect them to the walls and let the painting do its own construction work. Any mistake of mine can ruin the entire work as all phases are interconnected. It is key that right from the start every layer be consistent in itself with regard to colour, rhythm and thickness in order to finally achieve a good result.
This process is very much true to life. All things are connected; everything has its base, information and content. A reflection of this process can be found in the realities of the lives of men and women: In a current life situation light, vision and a lively, hopeful personality can be added – by way of a personal decision – to earthy and dark tones, which means making the best out of certain circumstances.
I am not a painter who is driven by his emotions and wants to express himself. Rather the opposite: earthbound, considerate, structured and in control, with the canvas as my vis-à-vis. Nevertheless it feels like an act of love with all the emotions going with it. The more I approach the completion of a work, the more I feel the euphoria and the adrenaline, love and joy. I create something that lives, visions and personal things; I tell stories about what is good and make visible what is possible and all the wonderful things that exist.
