Christian Rietz

Christian Rietz (*1983) lives and works in Potsdam. The self-taught painter navigates the tension between reduction and presence. In an age of visual overload, he explores the possibility of creating dense, concentrated experiences with minimal means. For him, painting does not mean an image in the classical sense, but rather a space that requires intense observation. His works arise from his engagement with materials, space and light. Through layering, Rietz creates surfaces that appear both closed and open at the same time. Subtle shifts – a variation in proportions, a minimal change in the surface, a difference in the way light is absorbed – open up spaces for viewers who are willing to look closely. His paintings are an invitation to understand reduction not as renunciation, but as concentration.

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Cover image: Karoline Wolf

Self-taught