Volker Hermes – Hidden Portraits – Just masquerade?

Düsseldorf-Unterbilk. Even though his Hidden Portraits, which are creations of photographic art and are currently going through the ceiling, may not suggest it at first glance, Volker Hermes is a painter. Originally his very specialised portraits were not planned as an independent series of works, but merely as studies on the history of painting. Similarly, until July 2020 the artist considered Instagram to be an unsuitable medium for presenting his art. But then everything turned out surprisingly different ...

Sophia Süßmilch – Pure Artist Talk

It only needs a fraction of a second and I’m captivated. What a weird photo! The adjoining, relevant, short and snappy profile in the June edition ofart Magazinunder the promising headline “Die Superheldin”1 clinched it for me. Sophia Süßmilch fascinates me immediately. The same day I write her a mail and enquire about a visit to her studio. She promptly replies. It was to become a special encounter ...

Laura Aberham – In a vibrant whirl of colour

Wuppertal. Even if the sun had not been shining, I am sure that, the moment I entered Laura Aberham’s study, an impression of glorious light would have been created. Bold, vibrant colours wherever you look and an artist who appears to be brimming with positive energy. After she had studied with Jürgen Drescher and Katharina Grosse, she completed her degree at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf as the star pupil of Ellen Gallagher. Immediately after the degree, the Düsseldorf gallery owner Rupert Pfab added her to his program. This was followed by solo exhibitions in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and London. Sometimes all this seems still unreal to her ...

Carolin Eidner – Lasting impact …

Berlin, Dusseldorf. There are exhibitions which – although they succeed in immediately causing the viewer to react emotionally – irritate, and stimulate a closer involvement only when reflecting on them. This happened at the visit to the solo show of Carolin Eidner at Galerie Aurel Scheibler in Berlin.

Barbara Schroeder – Art in the space-and-time cycle

Teuillac in Gironde. Time seems to have stopped here. To be exact, the time around 1867, as the crest in the home-cum-studio building that is Barbara Schroeder's home reveals. The house, built in light brick and reddish tile, stands next to a beautiful garden with a pond and is situated in the centre of the Bordelaise wine-growing district. The involvement with the elements of this environment largely determines the work of the artist, which moves between painting, installations and sculpture as well as performance, dance and poetry. As the icing on the cake, her passion for wine and French cuisine is also reflected in her art, which emerges during the very informal studio visit. All in all a pure pamper package... !
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Philipp Humm – Faust as Gesamtkunstwerk of the 21st century?

London, film premiere of The Last Faust. Both the trailer and even just a brief look at Philipp Humm's Gesamtkunstwerk*, his total work of art (graphics, photography, oil painting and sculpture) which now comprises one hundred and fifty works, astonished me beyond belief. Yet what I see today in the cinema hall and will see in his studio tomorrow is absolutely beyond my expectations. A fascinating mix of surreal, bizarre, comical yet also oppressively visionary images draws me directly into a cinematic future of the world. A world, where artificial intelligence has taken control over planet Earth ...
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Zander Blom – The Bad Reviews

Cape Town. If this is not a true artist studio again! Works on paper drying on a washing line strung across the room, large-format canvases, side by side, waiting to be finished, piles of books, paint tins and endless numbers of crayons competing for floor space, while sketches, printouts and pages torn from magazines cover the tables. I am in the studio of Zander Blom, whose wild and explosive painting, at first glance, appears to be as naively playful as this room ...
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Marion Fink – Why am I flying on a giant rock through space?

Potsdam. Today's studio visit takes me to Marion Fink, an artist, who caught the attention not only of current top galleries in Germany, but also of international galleries. Her remarkable paintings will be shown in London and New York before the end of this year. I want to find out what makes these paintings so special. Her studio – situated in a quiet street in a leafy part of Potsdam - is in a former Kindergarten that was transformed into a studio building. An austere stair case, an equally austere communal office in front of her studio, but then .... wow!
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