Thomas M. Hartmann

I was born in Iserlohn/Germany in 1946

My artistic objects arise from traces and signs of nature or remains of a passed human reality. Subjects of my works are the basis of growing and passing and the alienation of man from his natural and ideal resources.
I take my materials from the surrounding nature. I am fond of using peat which I take from the moor in early spring. It must dry for half a year before I can work on it. This organic substance is conciliating my artistic intentions in a very special way since even in the stage of transitoriness it leaves the structures of life visible. I also collect stones from surrounding fields. I favour flint which has a surprisingly rich colourfulness and a brittle body. This represents to me an extraordinary tension. From time to time I find tools from the stone age which I sometimes integrate in my works. To me they are signs of a dialogue which traces historical processes. Natural pigments of different ochre which I find in my region or elsewhere are another media of artistic expression. I regard them as magic substances which can give room to the remembrance of geohistoric processes and lost rituals.