Petra Seibert

Petra Seibert

Stuttgart, Germany

About Petra Seibert

1959 Born in Wismar, East Germany
1981-1984 College of Applied Art, Heiligendamm, East Germany
1984 88 Diploma in Design, Leipzig; design work at Leipzig Central Station
1988 Emigration to Stuttgart, West Germany; interior architect up to 2004
1991-93 International Colour Academy in Bretzfeld and Salzburg: Colour psychology
2005 Freelance artist and member of BBK/VBKW
Courses in free painting and ceramic sculpture
2007 Member of Ligne et Couleur, Stuttgart
2008 Annual participation in art auctions for the benefit of Brazilian street kids via
the Giovane Elber Foundation
2009 Annual participation in Vaihinger Art to support children suffering from cancer

People
Petra Seibert

Abstract or figurative? That is how I believe the world was created: from the big bang (chaos) to order (huge masses engulfing smaller ones and forcing them into orbit), i.e. order slowly emerging from chaos. That is exactly how I work. I generate a state of immense chaos a wonderful warming-up process and my fast pace of work, initially without a plan, creates the best possible connection to the inner images or, should we say, to an inner disposition, an inner opening I feel should never be missing in painting.

To start with, my prime concern was to completely switch off my brain. My art classes, initially, are all about switching off your brain and when you visit an exhibition of paintings, I recommend switching off the brain (though please dont pull a headset over your ears). In other words, I wanted to let go, not want anything specific, allow things to happen and be prepared for surprises. It was all about training senses that had been buried by reason. About finding where the pictures are, making contact with that place and reaching a state of flux without inner evaluation. Silencing that inner chatterbox. Of course it was a process of stirring and searching, mainly in the abstract. But for me this turned out to be a dead end. From my own experience I knew full well that clinging to the object can kill creativity (e.g. the life drawing drill during my design course). Besides, everybody teaches you to progress from the figurative to the abstract. But I felt that something was wrong. Then I read Lothar Fischers book Zur Kunst aus bildnerischer Sicht (On Art from a Pictorial Perspective) and for the first time heard about the academic error, and that encouraged me to carry on with my way of working, which was just the opposite way round: from the abstract to the figurative.

Similar as in sculpture, I extracted the motif step by step only removing what did not belong to the subject. But over the years it became clear that this process alone was not proving fruitful in the long term. Why should the mind be completely ignored? After a great deal of intuitive training, I allowed my mind to play its part again. Titles were found for pictures, then rejected and altered, a starting point for a series was developed, and external images (photos or real objects) added. But it is still my intuition, and not my mind, that guides my brush. It is as if reason is present in the room, ready and waiting for the moment I lay down my brush. Then I stand back from myself, try to objectify my eye and am preoccupied with questions about colour psychology, composition and content: are form and content right, is what I want to say clear, is it maybe too clear? My mind helps to channel any excessive intuition and prevent undisciplined thematic leaps so I dont lose sight of the goal and drift into arbitrariness. To achieve quality and substance you have to devote yourself to something for a long time and take it seriously. It is not enough to simply read something into the chaos you see. Conceptual thoughts and technical innovations are just as much a part of this process as are material collections, suitable literature and films, and topical conversations.

Nevertheless, there is still an element of randomness in my work process. Something always remains open-ended, not predetermined just as in Werner Heisenbergs uncertainty principle, which says that the position and velocity of a particle cannot be precisely measured at exactly the same time so that an element of uncertainty or randomness will always remain. Einstein didnt like this principle and liked to say: God doesnt play dice. Stephen W. Hawking countered: All the evidence shows that God was actually quite a gambler, and the universe is a great casino, where dice are thrown, and roulette wheels spin on every occasion. I agree with the latter. In concrete terms, it means a maximum of openness in my work process, a wide-awareness to what may happen, and a sense that nothing is ever finally concluded and anything can take a surprising turn. The tension is sometimes unbearable and involves both setbacks and leaps forward. Sometimes destruction brings the g

Education:

2010A Decade Rudolf Steiner-Haus, Stuttgart

200950 Years of Ligne et Couleur (GE)L+C, Stuttgart City Hall
La Rue (GE)L+C, Paris
Landscape (GE) L+C, Edinburgh
Fare Mondi (GE) L+C, Venice

2008Face ItGalerie Gruendorf, Leonberg
Memory PicturesSRH Fachkrankenhaus, Neresheim
Bodies (GE) L+C, Stuttgart City Hall
Best of (GE) Werapflege, Stuttgart City Hall
Visages (GE) L+C, Paris
The Sweet LifePlochingen Municipal Gallery
Conclusion (GE) Galerie Gruendorf, Leonberg
Fair participations (GE)Dekumo with Galerie InArt, Stuttgart

2007No Body is PerfectLivinghouse, Stuttgart
Fair booth 2nd Baden-Wrttemberg Art Fair, Stuttgart
Paintings and Nothing ElseSteiner am Fluss, Plochingen
Botnanger Artists (GE) Guest exhibitor, Botnanger
Fair booth (GE) 17th Art Fair, Bonn Women's Museum
Paintings (GE) L+C Milan, Paris and Edinburgh

2006 Lobsters and MoreGalerie Severina, Bad Doberan
Two WorldsIPPF Institute for Psychoanalysis, Freiburg
15 Local Artists (GE) Galerie Divanovic + Wahlers, Stuttgart
Three under One Roof (GE) Sympra PR Agency, Stuttgart

2005 Man the Centre of AttentionAcademy for Depth Psychology, Stuttgart
Paintings Eigen=Art, The Art Room, Stuttgart

2004 Error is HumanSdwestmetall, Ludwigsburg
Paintings and sculpturesBulthaup, Bblingen

2003Cross-SectionGalerie Brangs+Heinrich, Leinfelden








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Events:

Future Shows: Vernissage "10 years painting" by Petra Seibert in Stuttgart, Germany, Galerie Rudolf Steiner Haus, Uhlandshhe 10 28.02.2010, 11:15 o clock open Mo-Fr 9-17:00

Exhibitions:

Galerie Gali, Waiblingen, Kurze Straße 43, Germany
from April, 02. to June, 05. 2011
Paintings and Skulptures " Between"
Do- Fr 16-19:00 Sam 11-14:00