Die erste Zigarette Painting

Having grown up in former GDR studying art was not an option for me for political reasons, hence, I remained an autodidact. From today’s perspective I am glad about that. My creative work could evolve from deep inside me. Whilst I cannot completely rule out external influence, I can say that I never followed a trend. A vital element in my paintings is the contrast between the conscious and the unconscious. Every painting originates from an unconscious process. It evolves from the inside to a point where I consciously pick up the flow and continue painting. I always struggled to produce abstract paintings. Something inside me continuously searches for emerging figurative elements whilst a painting is being created. It occurs that my conscious painting destroys some of the freedom of the unconscious. But I cannot change that if I want to stay authentic. It is foreign to my nature to superimpose a meaning to my painting, nor would I ever choose or allow an ideological superstructure for my form of artistic expression.