Kopf I Sculpture

Painting is a sensual event for me. The mixing of the pigments, the movement of the brush, the colour applied layer by layer - these are parts of the painting process that I want to make visible in the picture. I studied at the Karlsruhe Art Academy with Prof. Per Kirkeby, one of the most important colourists, an expert in the use of colour. So I was able to find out early on what possibilities of expression painting could offer me. Soon figurative elements appeared in my paintings, above all stylised faces. I then deformed these with the help of special computer programmes. In this way, I created drawings in the 90s, which I then transferred back into painting with a clear pixel structure. This is how a 10-part, large-format Totentanz cycle came into being as my main work. The noughties brought a return to the beginnings of my studies. A new beginning under the working title Neoarchaic was to become a commitment to "pure" painting in predominantly earth colours. In the first phase of this period, heads were the central motif. In the second phase of Neoarchaic, I was mainly concerned with bodies, especially female ones, starting from simple forms. In the third phase, starting in 2016, I abandoned the reduced colour and the limited vocabulary of forms. Strongly coloured pictures with faces as the main motif emerged. This work phase is entitled Approaching Mexico. I had already encountered the culture of this country in my Dances of the Dead. The faces from this phase, however, show much more individuality. My latest works, which show fantasy plants, are also related to Mexico. In this floral painting I have returned to my roots: colour as my capital, as an art critic once wrote about me. I have been working and living in Ulm since 1985.