A Step Beyond, N° 05 02 25 Painting

Vera Jochum is a German painter living near the French border, working full-time as a professional artist. Since the 1980s, she has regularly participated in national and international solo and group exhibitions. Her works are represented in private and public collections in Finland, Slovakia, Canada, the United States, as well as in Germany and France. Jochum’s artistic practice is defined by a multilayered process that oscillates between swift, gestural expression and a slow, deliberate buildup that can evolve over weeks or months. She uses a wide variety of materials—ranging from traditional painting media to unconventional substances—giving her surfaces a distinct richness and tactile presence. This interplay between intuition and control, impulse and reflection, shapes a body of work that resists quick interpretation. While often associated with abstract expressionism, Jochum's art deliberately transcends stylistic boundaries. Her paintings do not aim to tell concrete stories but rather open spaces in which themes such as longing, vulnerability, memory, and transformation can unfold. A reduced yet nuanced color palette reinforces this openness: what initially appears minimalist reveals a deep, vibrant complexity upon closer observation, with subtle tonal shifts and layered textures. Jochum’s art is a quiet invitation to encounter. Her works emerge from a deeply personal need to process emotional experiences—not as declarations, but as open-ended explorations that allow the viewer to find their own meaning. Again and again, she returns to the canvas as a space of radical honesty—a place where presence and absence, gesture and stillness, fragility and resilience engage in dialogue.