I’m so happy and proud to report that eight of my paintings will be exhibited at the Venice International Art Fair 2021, currently due to take place from 10 May until 3 June 2021 in Venice, Italy. For latest information on the dates, please check the organisers’ website here as it might be subject to change (already postponed twice as a result of the lockdown in Italy).
Let me share with you here a little bit more on the paintings that will be on display at the Palazzo Albrizzi Capello.
A new beginning – from my Healer series
This painting may seem threatening, mysterious to others, or cryptic even. A desert landscape where shadows are moving in one direction. Who are these shadows? Are they friendly or unfriendly? Where do they lead us? I have learned to look at the shadows as they are, experiences, encounters, past traumas or benevolent messengers for our collective growth.
All of them are walking in one direction, towards the crown, the light or wisdom. If we are scared to look deeper, we will never be able to understand their messages. The sword of steely intention, the shield of self-determination combined with an open heart and a deep connection to Spirit can help us on our quest towards our true selves. This is the message of „A new beginning.“
Diptych Part I and II – from my Energy series
These two solar and radiant paintings hold the energy of renewal and hope, a vibrant pyrolle red and hansa yellow medium giving the painting its power and positivity. Earth and Fire. The aquamarine blue finger marks remind us of our shared humanity and balance the Earth and Fire with the Water Element.
The three primary colours yellow, red and blue are complemented by the mica flakes which give it a magical glow. The top layer was created over two very different undercoats, barely visible – Part I on a very primordial vivid painting, Part II over a chaotic urban jungle. In the end, only pure energy in the form of orbs coming out of the canvas.
Uncharted Universe – from my Universe series
A multi-layered painting with a slow birth painted over weeks. A first layer full of intense emotions, the release of collective trauma, pain and anger at the heart of the canvas. The second layer led to forgiveness and understanding, presencing past suffering and coming to terms with the past. The final layer, full of playfulness, carries with it the story of the painting, the deep lines of the first layers almost forming wrinkles in the structure, suggesting the journey to this final layer. No destination but an exploration of the possibles. Gold, magenta and phtalo green dominate. A feather was used to give this specific structure to heavy-bodied paint. Finally, like a sprinkle of hope and light, white acrylic ink finish off the painting, letting the journey continue.
Wild & Free III – from my Chaos series
Wild & Free III was painted in a couple of layers, the first layer a joyous autumnal extravaganza of terracota, sienna, magenta and white, evolving into a graffiti-style second layer, the pink turning like dyed punk hair and the phtalo green setting depth and accents. A kind of chaotic energy results. Movement and freedom were created through dynamic pouring and throwing gestures, the colours frozen in time merging subtly with each other, the green and orange kissing the white ink as it landed on the canvas. The structure disintegrates. Wilderness and freedom remain.
My beautiful mess – from my Chaos series
Painted in the early summer in the garden of the artist‘s studio in Hamburg, Germany while blackbirds, blue tits and swallows were flying overhead. This painting is full of blossoming energy. Innocent magenta, yellow, blue and white drops cover an earthy undercoat made with deep red and ultramarine blue mineral pigments. Phtalo green ink contributes to create the impression of a leafy green garden in the summer.
The most unusual tools were used to create this painting outside on a windy day: the weights that were used to weigh down the canvas laid flat on a table ended up as mark-making tools. The unusual swirls were created by dragging the weights across the canvas soaked with water and acrylic ink. The pink, magenta, yellow and white were sprinkled at the very end and the canvas left to dry flat. This resulted in a joyful painting bursting with colour, mysterious shapes and dots of vivid colours.
Tore gehen auf (The gates are open) – from my Universe series
This painting was inspired by a series of poems by the romantic German poet Rainer Maria Rilke beautifully put to music by the compositors and producers Schönherz & Fleer in the „Rilke Projekt“ albums. When I listen to these, I become the music and the poetry. I melt into the beauty of the spoken word. This is through the Rilke Projekt that I learned to love the German language, its melody and complexity.
„The gates are open“ or „Tore gehen auf“ in German is a line from the poem „Alles ist Eins“ (Everything is One). The wide circles in the painting evoke the circularity of the universe, also breaking the grid-like structure of closed gates and suggesting the unfolding of the mystery behind these gates. The structure underneath the circular lines was created by spraying water on wet paint and turning the painting by a quarter turn after spraying and letting gravity work its magic. Below the top most layer, some rich copper and red hues are revealed from the undercoat, attracting the eye to go further into the canvas.
L’Échappée Belle – from my Energy series
The dynamic energy emanating from this painting was created by pouring phtalo green fluid paint and white acrylic ink over the underlying layers of the canvas in copper, orange and grey and blue. The mica flakes added to the topmost layer catch the light to add more vibrancy and contrast. The dark swirls evoke the dance of atoms and particles moving at high speed and create a lively impression, frozen in time, the movement captured on the canvas.
J’ai mal à la Terre (My earth is aching) – from my Universe series
I created this painting as an artivist – an environmental activist artist. It shows the damage made to our beautiful planet. In French, „j’ai mal à la tête“ translates as „I have a headache“. „J’ai mal à la Terre“ therefore translates as „My earth is aching“. I deeply feel the collective pain of our planet and the trauma that Mother Earth has to endure. This earthache has been particularly exacerbated by the fires in the Amazonas, America and Australia and I weept with our planet as I see millions of hectares of forest disappearing through devastating fires.
I carried this painting in the streets of Hamburg high above my head for several hours as part of the Fridays for the Future demonstration in September 2019. I did not say anything. My painting spoke its words in a universal language. May this painting remind us of our common humanity, a fragile planet in the Universe. I used Sennelier ink diluted with water over acrylic paint to create the smoking and bleeding effects on the surface of the earth.