Vita

Passion for painting starts early | Watercolor & watery paint application

Painting is the big constant in my life. It all started with a small watercolor box with seven colors – when I was about 13 I was sitting in various VHS courses with lots of seniors. Nobody bothered – least of all me. I stayed with watercolor for years, it wasn’t until 2001 that I got to know acrylic painting in large format on canvas in the free painting school of the two artists Jürgen Sage and Astrid Albers in Berlin. The love for the watery application of paint is still evident today in the papers for my collages.

The way to independence

I was born (1973) and grew up in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. After completing my master’s degree in German and history in Mannheim and Waterloo / Canada (1994-2000), I worked in Berlin, later in Allgäu, then in Chiemgau as a product manager in the food industry until 2009. Painting was my constant companion during this time. But it wasn’t until 2009 that I packed up all my courage and made my dream come true to work as a freelance artist and photographer. Many group exhibitions followed, the first large solo exhibition, at which I was able to show my entire portfolio, took place in 2016.
Find out more about my exhibitions

Gallery representation

Since 2022 I have been represented by the Belgian FROCK Gallery in Ypres. The last major exhibition of my work took place in November / December 2022. The next show will take place in September 2024. Some of my works can be purchased directly from the art gallery store. Gallery owner Matt Frock visited my studio in Gräfelfing in November 2023 and filmed me explaining and working in the studio. If you want to know what it looks like in my studio, just click on the photo at ….

Modern Art” | Contemporary Art | Art Informel | Color Field Painting

On the home page I have described my portfolio with the term “Modern Art” . I’ve found that most people who want to learn about art, buy abstract art, or search for abstract art on the internet, tend to search for “modern art”. Interestingly, the term “modern art” seems to have prevailed, even if it is an empty phrase that says nothing. Because what does that mean? Abstract painting or abstract art that fits in with modern design-oriented furnishings?
From an art historical perspective, there is no such thing as “modern art”, there is only the art epoch of “classical modernism”, which roughly outlines the period between 1900 and the beginning of the war (1938), with all the different artistic movements such as Expressionism, Dada, Cubism etc. and the associated world-famous artists. This epoch is followed by “postmodernism” , which in turn is being replaced by the epoch of “contemporary art” , in which we are still from an art-historical point of view. Contemporary means more or less “current”.
Very few people use cumbersome terms such as “contemporary painting” or “contemporary abstract painting” in their search for art or paintings. No wonder, because “contemporary” means practically nothing, only that it is current art and the artist in question is still alive. I maintain that only a small circle of art historians, gallery owners, curators, the one or other art historically knowledgeable educated citizen and, of course, artists use the actual “clean” terms.
Why is that? I believe (this is really just a guess after careful consideration) that it could be because, for example, the English translation of the epochal term “classical modernism” is “modern art” and this is then mistakenly retranslated as “modern art”. For many educated people, for example, a visit to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) is a must when in New York, where contemporary art is always on display. It stands to reason that the simultaneous show of artists of the classical modern with contemporary artists leads to linguistic imprecision or even confusion and confusion, which then prevails for reasons of simplicity. In my opinion, it is almost a philosophical question as to whether “modern art” does not exist when the term is on everyone’s lips. In any case, against my better judgment, I took up “Modern Art” on my website in order to be found by you on the Internet – so I adapt to the linguistic conditions of my customers. Nevertheless, I would like to emphasize at this point that I am of course familiar with the art-historical discourse. You can find out more about the boundaries between the individual art eras in my “Art Wiki” from Dr. Gardill. To the art wiki

So where do I see myself? How do I fit myself into the entire art-historical discourse between “Modern Art”, “Classical Modern Art” and “Contemporary Art”? It’s actually quite simple: I am a contemporary artist, dedicate myself to non-representational painting and see myself in the tradition of color field painters and also the artists of the Informel.

The art historians and curators Dr. Barbara Rollmann-Borretty and Dr. Ingrid Gardill have written articles about me, which I recommend you read:
Dr. Rollmann-Borretty Observations on the wax collages
Dr. Ingrid Gardill About Gramann’s free painting
Dr. Ingrid Gardill About the series of Glanzstücke
Dr. Ingrid Gardill Making acrylic painting shine – about the new series of neon paintings
Dr. Ingrid Gardill Abstract painting in mixed media with ash, charcoal and pigments