The beginnings

The works “The Net” (2004, oil on canvas, 140 x 160 cm) and “Self-Portrait” (2000, oil on canvas, 85 x 110 cm) date from my studies in Dresden and Düsseldorf. In my self-portrait, created in Dresden, the influence of my role models at the time, Oskar Kokoschka, Siegfried Klotz, and Bernard Heisig, is clearly evident. For the first three semesters in Dresden, I studied under Professor Siegfried Klotz, with whom I share a deep respect, both artistically and personally. My professor Elke Hoppfe was also a wonderful teacher and a fantastic artist.

The Net | 2004 | Oil on canvas | 140 x 160 cm

In Düsseldorf, I found my own artistic language best understood and guided by Professor Herbert Brandel. The painting “The Net” was created during this time. The painting depicts people trapped in a large net. They are trying to expand this net and escape it. The painting illustrates our own imprisonment within our systems, which we may expand somewhat, but from which we cannot escape.