2025
oil on linen
120 x 160 cm
I know Stefanie for well over 20 years at this point.
During this time I was lucky to get to know her and her family quite well. Then came a sharp break and we did not talk for some years. Life sometimes gets in the way of friendship I guess. I am forever grateful that I did not last and we are all able to see each other again.
2025
oil on linen
60 x 80 cm
Frieder Nake is a mathematician, computer scientist and pioneer of computer art.
He is also a professor at the University of Bremen, which is where I got introduced to his teachings in computer sciences and computer generated graphics.
Frieders way of thinking had and still has a great influence on the way I look at certain things, not just arts. I remember the first time I watched him talk in front of us students at the university and the way he explained to us that “this is a great opportunity” for us. He explained that we can focus solely on getting good grades and he would grant them (for the appropriate amount of work and understanding of course), but he suggested that we rather want to ask ourselves, what it is that we are doing at this institution, question our surroundings and situation. What is it that we are learning and to what end? Is the goal to be productive or is the way of learning things far more interesting and possibly and inherently more fulfilling by way of constant progress?
2025
oil on canvas
40 x 60 cm
Philipp is a good friend of mine. Our friendship has changed a couple of times over the many years since we know each other or maybe that’s just evolution. Thankfully it has never been anecdotal,… yet. Painted until late at night and into the darkness.
2025
object
various materials
The work is part of an untitled series, which has been developing in the space of the „Bremer Kunst Werke“ since 2024. The focus of the work is mainly on materiality, whilst implicating recognizable or guessable form. The restrictions for the work are simple: cannot use newly bought things, must use found material, cannot explicitly represent something else, should reflect how it was made.
2024
object
various materials
The work is part of an untitled series, which has been developing in the space of the “Bremer Kunst Werke” since 2024. The focus of the work is mainly on materiality, whilst implicating recognizable or guessable form. The restrictions for the work are simple: cannot use newly bought things, must use found material, cannot explicitly represent something else, should reflect how it was made.
plywood, epoxy, paint, marker, graphite, screws, glue
50 x 50 cm
Risk or Risiko in german, is a deceptively simple game that utilizes quite a bit of randomness in its mechanics. The goal of the game is to win by reaching ones individual objective. While the stage is set, –again at random–, each player gets a certain amount of units, which will be place on the map by randomly drawing cards for each country, strategies start to form. These will come under fire during the course of the game, making it necessary to be a good tactician as well. Over to course of the game it will become clearer what the others are striving towards, sometimes resulting in short- and even longterm relationships with others. It can get heated, it might be political, humanitarian, selfish, bold, stealthy, just fun, chaos and so much more. In the end it is a game that reveals a lot more, than what its rather simple nature might suggest.
2022
oil on paper
150 x 170 cm
The second meditation on hubris.
After the first painting in this series was finished, –named “Ikarus”–, the artist began to reflect anew on the subject. This time it felt more relaxed. Not framed by guilt anymore. It felt honest.
While the first painting can be viewed as symbolic and by that holding beauty within. The second painting, –this one–, is raw. Stripped away are the things that where fake (the bloody eye never happened). They may have been necessary to be able to handle the shame associated with what happened. Make it more dramatic in order to look at it from a higher vantage point. This time around the artist felt more at ease with his past, more one with what he was, has become and where he may go next. Therefore this painting is far more direct in its approach. No need for beauty. Show the uglyness, accept it. Let the painting bleed.
2020
oil on paper
150 x 150 cm
A meditation on the artists own hubris in his adolescent and young adult years.
The negative effects of the self destructive ways in which the artist lived are literally reflected back at him through his mirror image after a serious bike accident. Reckless in his behavior he was pulled back by this experience and forced to reflect upon it, but didn’t. Continuing this path he suffered even more accidents, adopted alienating behavior towards others, as addiction and self harm became almost a norm, invisible to others and himself. One can certainly argue that self harm was the unconscious attempt at redemption, although doomed to fail.
This painting and it companion “Idiot” are the needed psychological reflection of this time. An attempt at reconciliation and forgiveness. The artists became much more aware of the origins of his behavior and in turn calmed down, although still not fully. And by this sentiment the painting marks a milestone, but no end.