I paint therefore I am!

The source of my art is my positive attitude to life. I would like to enable the observer to tune in to the poetry of everyday existence and enrich his own life. With my paintings I try to motivate him to perceive and shape his environment in this open, positive sense. Thus experimental works arise which can influence society without being overloaded with theory.

Art offers us unlimited possibilities and as an artist I find my opportunities within these. I can make beautiful things more beautiful oder make ugly things even uglier; I can drift on the ideas of art for art's sake and disconnect from all our current problems. On the other hand I can use my art to motivate people to get involved in the improvement of our environment and living conditions; to become more sensitive to the often difficult communication across cultures and between people. My work is intended to help us move towards each other and therefore does not shy away from any of these topics.

>>Painting is the centre of my creative work.<<

I have an inspired, emotional relationship with the representation of objects and this is reflected in my powerful but also sensitive use of colour. A further factor: the images in my mind need space and the strong colours can best be represented in large-scale formats! My excitement and passion for big surfaces and striking forms are results of my experience in a Paris atelier where large-sized cinema posters were designed and painted by hand. Later my art studies in Berlin enabled me to expand my appreciation of vivacity, breadth and depth.

Personally and artistically I was influenced very early and enduringly by my contact with another culture: as a child and teenager I spent a lot of time in Morocco and with the people there. Later I learned the art and techniques of traditional arabian stucco and the intricacies of the conception and creation of mosaics. The fabulous shapes and forms of Moroccan culture flowed into my work. Many contacts to this wonderful country thus arose and these have led to a great variety of artistic projects, installations and performances in addition to my painting. The fruits of these cooperations showed the contrasting cultural philosophies and ideas, their progress towards each other or their ability to co-exist with appropriate distance and respect.

My works display again and again the delicate balance between social comment and craftsmanship and between artistic creativity and the communication of ideas.