SAVE THE DATE
ART MATTERS 16: Our next open call will start on 6 March 2026, as always here on this page!
All further information on how to apply will be announced on Friday 6 March at noon CET, only here on our website!!
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ARCHIV
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ART MATTERS 15
Online Group Exhibition
8 – 17 December 2025
1 new artist daily at 6pm CET
exclusively here and on: Instagram, Galerie Biesenbach Webshop and Facebook
FINALE: Wednesday 17 December at 5pm and 6pm
We announce the two winners of our online competition: they will be invited to participate in our 2nd physical ART MATTERS group exhibition at our Cologne gallery in winter 2026. (Two additional participants will be selected through our ART MATTERS 16 Open Call next spring.)
Following our 15th Open Artist Call, we launch our new ART MATTERS online group exhibition on Monday 8 December at 6pm CET. From all applications received, we have selected 9 finalists, who will be presented with their submitted artworks here on our website, on Instagram and on Facebook, one after the other until 16 December. Every day at 6pm, a new name and artwork will be unveiled so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole. The presentation of our Top 9 is rounded off by the "Honourable Mentions" in our daily Instagram stories, in which we acknowledge the works of a selected number of artists who just missed the final cut (27, to be exact, posted in our Instagram stories from 9 to 17 December, 3 per day and between noon and 6pm).
Finale: On Wednesday 17 December at 5pm and 6pm we will announce the two winners of our online competition: They will be invited to participate in the 2nd physical group group exhibition ART MATTERS in our gallery space in Cologne, which will open beginning of December 2026.
We invite you to visit ART MATTERS 15 regularly here on our website, Instagram and Facebook.
About our ART MATTERS series:
As with our previous 14 Open Artist Calls since April 2020 – 11 regular editions and 3 special summer editions – we were aware of how diverse and eclectic this 15th online exhibition could be. But it is precisely the idea of an open call that continues to appeal to us: inviting artists from a wide variety of backgrounds to apply and submit their work. From this multitude of perspectives and positions, we hope to create an exhibition that shows a field of tension, but also a symbiotic dialogue between the individual works of art. An exhibition that fits in with the orientation and philosophy of the gallery, but also brings something new to our programme.
You can check out our first 14 ART MATTERS shows in the archive further down.
PS: Our next open call ART MATTERS 16 will take place in March/April 2026… again without any specific theme!
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FINALE: Wednesday 17 December
CITLALI L. HALFAR – Winner 2/2
And now for the next announcement of the evening: Congratulations to CITLALI L. HALFAR, the 2nd from 2 winners of our 15th ART MATTERS online competition. The young artist with Mexican roots (*2004 in Stuttgart, DE) is currently still studying at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. Although she is only 21 years old, her works already show remarkable artistic maturity. Her honest, subtly sensitive portraits fascinate and inspire us with their painterly quality and content, and we are delighted to be able to show a selection of her paintings in our Cologne gallery from 4 December 2026 – together with Kyungseo Lee, the other winner of our online contest. (Two more participants will be selected via ART MATTERS 16 in March/April 2026!)
In her oil paintings, Citlali L. Halfar depicts people from her immediate environment, often in classic portrait situations, all based on real, informal situations from their everyday lives. The concept of memory plays an important role in this. By elaborating on a person in a selected moment, the artist has to deal with every detail of that moment and thus experiences this memory again in a differentiated way from her current perspective.
‘I look for moments that express my perception of their realities and thus capture their personalities. These are usually moments when they are very calm and preoccupied with themselves, as this is when their characters are most clearly recognisable.’
CITLALI L. HALFAR
STATEMENT
As a teenager, I mainly worked with graphite, and since starting university, I have devoted myself almost exclusively to oil painting. However, people have always been the subject that interests me the most by far.
More specifically, I depict people in my immediate environment whom I know very well, because that is the only way a picture can be interesting to me. I often portray them in classic portrait situations, all of which are based on real, unposed situations that I encounter in my everyday life.
The concept of memories plays a particularly important role in my painting, as by elaborating on a person in a selected moment, I have to confront every detail of that moment and thus relive this memory in a differentiated way from my current perspective. In recent years, I have often depicted scenarios that I did not witness myself, but which are nevertheless closely interwoven with my life. These were mostly references from my mother, which allow me to understand her role before my existence and thus explore her and my Mexican background.
However, my painting currently focuses mainly on my two younger sisters, who are slowly approaching adulthood. The contradictions that arise in this stage of life and the aesthetics that an individual person indulges in are reflected in my depictions.
I look for moments in which my perception of their realities of life is expressed, thus capturing their radiant personalities. These are mostly moments when they are very calm and preoccupied with themselves, as this is when their characters are most noticeable.
CV
Citlali L. Halfar
*2004 in Stuttgart, DE
lives and works in Düsseldorf, DE
Education
2022-23
- Orientation Course Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
2023-25
- Kunstakademie Düsseldorf with Prof. Ellen Gronemeyer
since 2025
- Kunstakademie Düsseldorf with Prof. Kati Heck
Selected Exhibitions
2025
- Group Show ART MATTERS 15, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online)
- Kuboshow Art Fair
- CASA Group Show, AstA-Ausstellungsraum, Düsseldorf
- Fresh Positions Group Show, BBK, Düsseldorf
2024
- Kombi Group Show, Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin
- Kuboshow Art Fair
- Gruppenausstellung, Kunstzentrum Wachsfabrik, Cologne
2022
- Duo Show ,,Story Lines"
Work Experience
since 2024
-Assistant Painter (Working Student), Studio Vivian Greven
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OUR 9 FINALISTS:
KYUNGSEO LEE – Winner 1/2
It is time to announce the 1st from 2 winners of our 15th ART MATTERS online competition: Congratulations to KYUNGSEO LEE, whom we hereby invite to participate in the 2nd physical ART MATTERS group exhibition at our gallery in Cologne. (The 2nd winner will be announced at 6pm!)
The emerging artist Kyungseo Lee (*1995 in South Korea) lives and works in London. She earned her Master of Arts in Painting from the Royal College of Art (2023) and her Bachelor of Arts in Painting and Visual Communication Design from Hongik University (2020). Lee was selected as an artist in residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris, 2016) and the PADA Artist Residency (Lisbon, 2023).
Kyungseo Lee's erotically charged paintings challenge the viewer to confront their own ambivalence towards the theme of ‘body image’. Although the artist's style has recently shifted from a more figurative style to abstraction, the human body remains an integral part of her work.
Lee works with a loose painting style in which the figures quickly merge with surface markings and gestures. A sometimes rather uniform colour palette oscillates with more vigorous use of lively brushstrokes in stronger colours. Her work promotes physical eroticism in contemporary painting. It invites different ways of viewing and interpreting, and although abstract landscapes are also present, it is above all the hidden voyeuristic windows that captivate us most. We are delighted to be able to show a selection of her paintings from 4 December 2026.
KYUNGSEO LEE
Exchange, 2025
oil on canvas
25,5 x 20 cm
The work is available via our web shop. Click here for more information!
STATEMENT
Within my practice, I explore the conflicting emotions and values towards the human experience. The erotically charged images serve as a stressor to the viewer, challenging one’s own ambivalence on the topic of ‘body image’. Grey areas in between the binaries of bodily celebration and objectification, right and wrong, good and evil have been a continuing topic and interest for me. Experiencing the polarised society in Korea especially in my generation, has drawn me to explore the spaces in between. I am also driven by a genuine curiosity and admiration for how each individual carries their own universe of values and experiences.
The figures in my paintings morph into abstraction, shifting from form to expression. I have been specifically working on the fluidity in my paintings. To achieve this, I choose to pull back and restrain the brush, leaving parts of the canvas empty. I let the colours flow and merge themselves, bringing ambiguity to its fullest extent. Working with a loose painterly style, the figure soon dissolves into surface marks and gestures.
CV
Kyungseo Lee
*1995 in South Korea
lives and works in London
Education
2021-23
- MA Painting, Royal College of Art, London, UK
2014-20
- BFA Painting, Hongik University, London, UK
2016-20
- BFA Visual Communication Design, Hongik University, Seoul, Korea
2016
- Illustration (Exchange Programme), Paris College of Art, Paris, France
2011-14
- Seoul Arts High School, Seoul, Korea
Solo Exhibitions
2024
- Phosphenes, Gallery Belenius, Stockholm, Sweden
- Demian, Makasiini Contemporary, Turku, Finland
2021
- Love Me/Love Me Not, LKIF Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Group Exhibitions
2025
- ART MATTERS 15, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, Germany (online)
- Dolce Far Niente, MyMA, US (online)
- The Self-Portrait Prize Exhibition, Ruth Borchard Collection, UK (online)
- EXH15, Floorr Magazine, UK (online)
- Open Studio, Revue Studios (Soho Revue Residency), London, UK
2024
- Walk While You Have the Light, Safehouse 1, London, UK
- In the Emancipation of Self, D Contemporary, London, UK
- Carnalia (Duo Exhibition with Hannah Lim), Blue Shop Gallery, London, UK
2023
- This is Not a Toxic Field, Galleria PADA (PADA Residency), Lisbon, Portugal
- SSA 125th Annual Exhibition, Maclaurin Art Gallery, Ayr, UK
- RCA Painting Degree Show, The Truman Brewery, London, UK
- Works on Paper 5, Blue Shop Cottage (now Blue Shop Gallery), UK (online)
- South Open, OHSH Projects, Peckham Arches, London, UK
- Old and New, Show and Tell x Pick and Place, Seoul, Korea
2022
- 1:1:1, KO Art & Antiques, UK (online)
- Oneiric, Purslane Art, UK (online)
- TERRA, SET Studios Gallery, London, UK
- Collaboration with The Little Scarlet Door, Soho Revue, London, UK
- Works on Paper 4, Blue Shop Cottage (now Blue Shop Gallery), UK (online)
- Come One Come All, The Function Suite, London, UK
- RAW, Soho Revue, London, UK
- WIP Show, Royal College of Art, UK (online)
2021
- Drying Time, Gallery 100_0, Seoul, Korea
2020
- Poster Factory, 9AND, Seoul, Korea
2019
- BFA Degree Show (Visual Design), Hongik University, Seoul, Korea
2018
- BFA Degree Show (Painting), Hongik University, Seoul, Korea
2017
- Open Studio, Department of Painting, Hongik University, Seoul, Korea
- FLESH, Gallery HOARD, Seoul, Korea
2016
Open studio with Reeha Lim, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
EMERGENCE, Le Pavé d'Orsay, Paris, France
Awards & Scholarships
2025
- The Self-Portrait Prize (Longlist), Bournemouth, UK
- Jackson’s Art Prize (Extended Longlist), London, UK
2022
- The Waverton Art Prize (Longlist), London, UK
2017
- Adobe Design Achievement Awards (Semifinalist), California, USA
- Overseas Scholarship, Hongik University, Seoul, Korea
Residencies
2025
- Revue Studios (Soho Revue Gallery), London, UK
2023
- PADA Studios Artist-in-Residence, Lisbon, Portugal
2016-17
- Cité Internationale des Arts Residency, Paris, France
Collaboration
2022
- Exhibition and Artwork Acquired by Nike, Nike SNKRS Hongdae, Seoul, Korea
Teaching Experience
2023
- Artist Talk and Tutorial, Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), Cambridge, UK
- Artist Talk and Workshop, University for the Creative Arts (UCA), Farnham, UK
2022
- Workshop, Camberwell College of Arts (UAL), London, UK
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OUR 9 FINALISTS:
OUR TOP 9 AT ONE GLANCE:
Our final TOP 9 is complete – thank you for participating in our online group show ART MATTERS 14 – Still Life (from top left):
Citlali L. Halfar – Chiau-Syuan Chai – Francisco Gonzalez Camacho
JKB Fletcher – Raha Rastifard – Francesco Gioacchini
Stephen Whatcott – Ruud Simons – Manuel Rumpf
Tonight at 5pm and at 6pm we will announce the 2 winners of our ART MATTERS 15 online competition!
About ART MATTERS 15:
For the 15th edition of ART MATTERS, it was once again difficult for us to select only 9 artists for our online show from the many outstanding submissions we received in response to our latest Open Artist Call.
We hope that this multitude of perspectives and positions results in an exhibition that shows a field of tension, but also a symbiotic dialogue between the individual works of art. An exhibition that fits in with the orientation and philosophy of our gallery, but also definitely brings something new to our programme.
There is so much remarkable art out there, but we can't show it all in our gallery. The ART MATTERS series allows us to present many artistic positions from around the world to a wider online audience for about two weeks, three times a year.
Many thanks to everyone who has been following this project and many thanks also – above all – to all participating artists, especially to our TOP 9 and the 27 Honourable Mentions (some of whom we are still presenting today in our Instagram Stories).
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OUR 9 FINALISTS:
16 December: Finalist 9 of 9
MANUEL RUMPF
Lichthof, 2023
oil on canvas
23 x 40 cm
The work is available via our web shop. Click here for more information!
Day 9 of our 15th ART MATTERS online group exhibition: We present the last of our 9 finalists... which means: Tomorrow is the finale and we will announce the 2 winners of our art competition! But first, we are delighted to present MANUEL RUMPF (*1987, lives and works in Munich) today. His paintings and drawings depict deserted environments, often in artificial or diffuse light, sometimes as quiet scenes, sometimes in motion. These places and landscapes do not appear as static images, but as moments between perception and disappearance. Read more about Manuel Rumpf and his work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 16 December, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 17 December at 5pm and at 6pm, we will announce the 2 winners of our online competition: they will be invited to participate in the 2nd physical ART MATTERS group exhibition in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early December 2026.
STATEMENT
Today's landscapes are man-made. Transport routes, commercial areas, industrial facilities and urban peripheries arise from functional necessities and shape the environment of many people. They serve as everyday infrastructure, but are rarely perceived as designed or meaningful spaces. Their function is geared towards efficiency, not representation or identification.
These places often seem inconspicuous because they have no classic recreational value. They are transit spaces and intermediate zones – uninhabited, but by no means unused. We glance at them fleetingly: we pass them on our way to work or see them from the train window. Although they appear incidental, they have a specific atmosphere: lighting conditions, desolation and traces of human use form a scene that goes beyond pure function.
Manuel Rumpf explores this atmosphere in his paintings. The first step in the creative process is photographic exploration, which serves less as documentary recording than as an immediate experience of the place. The focus is on light, mood and spatial effect. In his paintings, Rumpf transfers these impressions onto canvas in oil or onto paper in ink. His style deliberately avoids overly precise details, emphasising instead the fleeting and approximate nature of memory. Glazed layers of colour create depth and space, concretising or blurring contours. His works depict deserted environments, often in artificial or diffuse light, sometimes as quiet scenes, sometimes in motion.
The places and landscapes in Rumpf's paintings do not appear as static images, but as moments between perception and disappearance.
CV
Manuel Rumpf
*1987 in Munich, DE
lives and works in Munich, De
www.manuelrumpf.de
@rumpf_manuel
Education
2006-09
Vocational training in communication design, Munich
2007-14
Studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich
Awards & Honours
2013
- Appointed master student, AdBK Munich
2020
- Darmstädter Sezession sponsorship award
2023
- Sponsorship award from the Rosenheim Art Association
2025
- Bavarian Studio Award
Selected Exhibitions
2025
- ‘ART MATTERS 15’, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online)
- ‘nocturne’, Landshut Art Association
- ‘Zur ewigen Freiheit’ (Towards Eternal Freedom), Modern Studio, Old Prison, Freising
- ‘Summer Salon’, Marshall Gallery, Santa Monica (CA)
- ‘ORBIT’, Galerie Grabsdorf, Munich
- ‘PERSPEKTIVE - RETROSPEKTIVE’, Kulturstiftung der Sparkasse Karlsruhe
2024
- ‘IKON/IKONE/KULTBILD’, Darmstadt Secession, Designhaus Darmstadt
- ‘31st Aichach Art Prize’, Kunstverein Aichach, SanDepot Aichach
- ‘YOUNG ART | Jan Gemeinhardt - Manuel Rumpf’, BBK Gallery in the Glaspalast Augsburg
2023
- ‘222118’, Darmstadt Secession, Designhaus Darmstadt
- ‘KUNST AKTUELL 2023’, Kunstverein Rosenheim, Städt. Galerie Rosenheim (sponsorship award)
2022
- ‘Electronic Landscapes’, award winners' exhibition, Darmstadt Secession, Atelier Siegele Darmstadt
- ‘UMNACHTET - BESTIRNT: Das Nächtliche in der Kunst’ (Night-time in Art), BC - pro arte Foundation, Biberach
- ‘Sights’, Modern Studio, Old Prison, Freising
- ‘Peripherie’ (Periphery), solo exhibition, Galerie Orange, Tegernsee
2021
- ‘KUNST AKTUELL 2021’, Kunstverein Rosenheim, Municipal Gallery Rosenheim
2020
- ‘KOMPAKT’, Darmstadt Secession, Designhaus Darmstadt (sponsorship award)
- ‘IR-REAL’, Galerie Bodenseekreis, Meersburg
2019
- ‘Europe Calling’, Aki Gallery Taipei, Taiwan
2018
- Solo exhibition, Galerie Orange, Tegernsee
2017
- ‘WIR’, Galerie Weise, Chemnitz
2016
- ‘Neue Positionen’, Galerie Rieder, Munich
2015
- ‘Munich contemporary art’, Aki Gallery Taipei, Taiwan
- ‘Orte’, Galerie Rieder, Munich
2014
- ‘Genug gewollt’, Galerie Gierig, Munich
- ‘Dioskuren’, Galerie der Künstler, BBK Munich
2013
- ‘Bonjour, Monsieur Duchamp!’, Kunstpavillon Munich
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15 December: Finalist 8 of 9
RUUD SIMONS
Changing References, 2024
oil on canvas
140 x 120 cm
The work is available via our web shop. Click here for more information!
Day 8 of our 15th ART MATTERS online group exhibition: Today, we are pleased to present the Dutch artist RUUD SIMONS (*1962, lives and works in Venlo, NL). In his work, Simons – who regularly switches between painting and sculpture – begins with his fascination for the infinite possibilities with which he can manipulate materials into associative compositions. In doing so, he creates a rearrangement of reality that evokes multiple levels of interpretation in the viewer. Read more about Ruud Simons and his work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 16 December, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 17 December at 5pm and at 6pm, we will announce the 2 winners of our online competition: they will be invited to participate in the 2nd physical ART MATTERS group exhibition in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early December 2026.
STATEMENT
Art is about postponing the need to explain what you see.
The meaning is always changing, always in motion.
A work becomes interesting to me when an unnameable doubt in its meaning creates space for ambiguous thoughts and associations.
A sense of incompleteness is essential here, the feeling that it can always change.
Like life itself, nothing is fixed, nothing is permanent.
CV
Ruud Simons
*1962
lives and works in Venlo, NL
www.ruudsimons.com
@ruudsimons_
Education
1981-86
- Maastricht Institute of Arts, graduated as a freelance visual artist and lecturer in painting, printmaking and art history
Selected Exhibitions
2025
- ART MATTERS, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online)
2024
- Galerie Wilms Venlo, ‘Amuse’
- Limburg Biennale Marres Maastricht
- Kunstverein Duisburg, DE, exhibition ‘Odd Connection’
2023
- Kulturpodium Domani Venlo, concert exhibition with musician Jacq Sanders
2022
- Exhibition Atelier-Galerie Ruud Simons, ‘About the human face and beyond’, two- and three-dimensional figurative works
2020
- ‘Odd gaat vreemd’, group exhibition marking the 10th anniversary of the Odd Art Route Venlo in the former building of the Van Bommel van Dam Museum
2016
- Exhibition ‘Garden of the Arts’ Arcen, Wilms Gallery and Museum van Bommel van Dam
2015
- Group exhibition ‘For Freedom's Sake’ on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Margraten
- Exhibition Wanda Reiff Contemporary Art Bemelen
- Exhibition ‘Amuse’ Wilms Gallery Venlo
- Exhibition ‘Heads’ Kunstraum p.ART.s Oirlo
Selected Commissioned Works and Sculptures in Public Spaces
2020
- Design of “de Opstaeker” Venlo
2019
- Installation of the monumental sculpture ‘Like the Compliance of a Chess Piece’ in Kessel
2018
- Installation of the monumental stainless steel sculpture ‘The Balance of Change’ in Wegrow, Poland
2017
- Bronze head ‘der Urmensch’ (the primitive man), Erich Wilker Museum, Lohmar, Germany
2016
- Bronze statue ‘de Vastelaoves Geis’, Blerick
2013
- Portrait commissioned by the Lei Brueren Venlo youth church
2011
- Installation of the Corten steel sculpture ‘Encircled Image’ in Domani Venlo
2010
- Final reinstallation of the monumental sculpture ‘Toleranceintolerance’ in Venlo
2009
- Various (semi-)private commissions for leaded glass windows and steel sculptures
2008
- Installation of a monumental gate made of Corten steel for the cultural venue Domani, Venlo
2007
- ‘Where Am I Going’, installation of a sheet steel sculpture, Venlo
- Commissioned work: leaded glass windows for the Dominican Church in Venlo
2002
- Installation of the monumental sculpture ‘Balance of Change’, municipality of Helden
2001
- Installation of the monumental sculpture ‘Circle of Influence’, Gelreplein Venlo
- ‘The Test of Righteousness’, private commission in bronze
2000
- Installation of the monumental sculpture ‘Toleranceintolerance’, Odapark Venray
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14 December: Finalist 7 of 9
STEPHEN WHATCOTT
Shift, 2024
acrylic on canvas
30 x 20 cm
The work is available via our web shop. Click here for more information!
Day 7 of our 15th ART MATTERS online group exhibition: British painter STEPHEN WHATCOTT (*1983, lives and works in Worcestershire, UK) is our 7th of nine finalists. In his work, Whatcott tends to utilise line and form. His largely monochrome abstract paintings explore solidity, texture and composition, often executed in a seemingly aggressive, or at least expressive, manner. Read more about Stephen Whatcott and his work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 16 December, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 17 December at 5pm and at 6pm, we will announce the 2 winners of our online competition: they will be invited to participate in the 2nd physical ART MATTERS group exhibition in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early December 2026.
STATEMENT
My abstract paintings seek to demonstrate instinctive, expressive mark making while still retaining a balanced composition.
Influenced primarily by punk rock and grunge music in my teens, followed later by jazz, my work centres on mood with the freedom of improvisation at its core. The serendipitous nature of the process therefore acts as a guide when composing work.
The emotional impact of the image is always the primary focus of these paintings. Ranging from great, colossal walls of paint to more free-flowing expressive forms, they are built up in many textured layers with each layer referring to the marks made previously throughout the entire process. Composed largely instinctively, the paintings are physical, both in technique and presence, but ultimately attempt to communicate on an emotional level.
With roots based in drawing, my work tends to utilise line and form. These largely monochrome abstract paintings explore solidity, texture and composition, often executed in a seemingly aggressive, or at least expressive, manner.
It is in the fundamental components of vitality, drive and feeling, the things that epitomise being alive, that are being conveyed in these pictures.
CV
Stephen Whatcott
1983 born in Cheltenham, UK
lives and works in Hampton, Worcestershire, UK
www.stephenwhatcott.com
@stephenwhatcott
Education
- self-taught
Solo Exhibitions
2018
- Heikko, Curious Duke Gallery, London
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025Cologne- ART MATTERS 15, Galerie Biesenbach, Köln (online)
- ING Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, London
- Fresh: Art Fair, Cheltenham (with Little Buckland Gallery)
- Hibernal, Little Buckland Gallery, Broadway, Worcestershire
2024
- Heliac, Little Buckland Gallery, Broadway, Worcestershire
- Black Swan Arts Open 2024, Black Swan Arts, Frome, Somerset
- Summertide, Little Buckland Gallery, Broadway, Worcestershire
- Fresh: Art Fair, Cheltenham (with Little Buckland Gallery)
2023
- ART MATTERS 8, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online)
- ART MATTERS 7, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online)
- Affordable Art Fair, Battersea (Spring), London (with Caiger Art)
2022
- ART MATTERS 5, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online)
- Affordable Art Fair, Battersea (Autumn), London (with Caiger Art)
- Black Swan Arts Open 2022, Black Swan Arts, Frome, Somerset
- Affordable Art Fair, Battersea (Spring), London (with Caiger Art)
2021
- Affordable Online Art Fair
2020
- A6 Murals Worldwide, a project by Lydia Wierenga, Netherlands
- Affordable Art Fair, Battersea, London
2018
- Winter, Highgate Contemporary Art, London
- Summer Group Show, Curious Duke Gallery, London
- The Big Mix, Highgate Contemporary Art, London
- The Secret Art Prize 2017, The Hoxton Hotel, Shoreditch, London
2017
- The Secret Art Prize 2017, The Hoxton Hotel, Shoreditch, London
- Summer Love, Curious Duke Gallery, London
- Affordable Art Fair, Hampstead, London
- Three100, No Format Gallery, London
2016
- A Curious Christmas, Curious Duke Gallery, London
- SOHO Pop-Up, L'Escargot, London
- The Art Garden Party, Curious Duke Gallery, London
- The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2016, Mall Galleries, London
2015
- Mix 2, The Underdog Gallery, London
- Secret Art Prize - The Winners, Curious Duke Gallery, London
- The Pancakes & Booze Art Show, Studio Spaces E1, London
- The Creative Bubble Pop-Up Show (April edition), Roxy Bar & Screen, London
- The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2015, Mall Galleries, London
2014
- The Curious Art-Pie Show, Curious Duke Gallery, London
- The Creative Bubble Pop-Up Show (November edition), Roxy Bar & Screen, London
- The Creative Bubble Pop-Up Show (September edition), Roxy Bar & Screen, London
2012
- Open Exhibition 2012, Number 8 Gallery, Pershore
2011
- OH! Oxford House, London
- Second Glance, Brick Lane Gallery, London
2008
- Innate Ability IV, Number 8 Gallery, Pershore
2005
- Innate Ability I, Number 8 Gallery, Pershore
Self-initiated Exhibitions
2013
- Solo show @ The Regal Cinema, Evesham
Bibliography & Features
2018
- The Plus Paper, “Read between the lines” March 2018
Awards
2015
- Secret Art Prize: Category Winner: Painting
2012
- Number 8 Gallery Special Merit Award
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13 December: Finalist 6 of 9
FRANCESCO GIOACCHINI
Untitled (test series #19), 2024
oil, pencil on canvas
30 x 30 cm
The work is available via our web shop. Click here for more information!
Day 6 of our 15th ART MATTERS online group exhibition: Today, we are happy to present the Italian artist FRANCESCO GIOACCHINI (*1985, lives and works in Berlin). Minimalist and conceptual: Gioacchini's painting explores the boundaries of the canvas. He is not interested in telling stories, but rather attempts to understand what can happen within the limited and reduced space of the surface. Read more about Francesco Gioacchini and his work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 16 December, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 17 December at 5pm and at 6pm, we will announce the 2 winners of our online competition: they will be invited to participate in the 2nd physical ART MATTERS group exhibition in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early December 2026.
STATEMENT
My work deals with the idea of marginality and attempt. Moving from references related to art history, literature and contemporary aesthetic, I pursue a visual practice made of contrasts, collisions and overlapping of media. Throughout the adoption of a minimal and conceptual painting my work is an ongoing exploration of the perimeter of the canvas. I am not interested in narrating, I try to understand what can happen inside the limited and reduced space of the surface, whether it be a sheet of paper, a canvas or even a three-dimensional space. My research is marked by a series of attempts and failures where the pictorial elements need to gain the space of the physical object that contains them.
CV
Francesco Gioacchini
*1985 in Loreto, IT
lives and works in Berlin, DE
Education
2018
- Academy of Fine Arts of Macerata (Italy), Master’s Degree in Painting
2014
- Slade School of Fine Art (UCL), London (UK), Summer school
2011
- University of Macerata (Italy), Master’s Degree in Publishing Communication
2009
- Universitat Ramón Llull, Barcelona (Spain), Erasmus program
2008
- University of Macerata (Italy), Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Media Communication
Solo Exhibitions
2025
- Aside From Us, curated by Jack Lazenby, Soho House Berlin, Germany
2024
- Francesco Gioacchini: Parking exhibition #1, JYR56, Chongqing, China
2021
- Francesco Gioacchini: Closing Lines, WerkStadt Berlin e.V., Berlin, Germany
- Fenster Projekt 1.6: Francesco Gioacchini, Prenzlauer Studio, Berlin, Germany
2018
- Francesco Gioacchini. Missing Days, curated by Giulia Perugini and Emanuele Gurini, GABA.MC Young, Macerata, Italy
- Equilibri d’identità, duo show with Iacopo Pinelli, Galleria Puccini, Ancona, Italy
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025
- ART MATTERS 15, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, DE (online)
2024
- Fuck War, curated by Cheap Festival, Bologna, Italy
- Caro Alberto (cartoline per Alberto Garutti), curated by Giacinto Di Pietrantonio, Spazio Tempesta, Recanati, Italy
2023
- Let the circus begin - 48 Stunden Neukölln, SUB TEI, Berlin, Germany
- Anomalie art point, Anomalie art club, Berlin, Germany.
2022
- Alias, Spazio Opal, Milan, Italy
2021
- Combat Prize 2021, Museo Civico Giovanni Fattori, Livorno, Italy
- Unblock Fair Art Fair, Studios ID, Berlin, Germany
- Rea Art Fair 2021, Fabbrica del Vapore, Milan, Italy
2020
- Hastings Open, Hastings Museum & Art Gallery, Hastings, UK
- Kunst der Nachhaltigkeit, Group Global 3000, Berlin, Germany
- Est e Ovest, Fondazione Pescarabruzzo, Pescara, Italy
2019
- Premio Marche 2019, Pinacoteca Civica, Ascoli Piceno, Italy
- Lynx Art Prize: Salone Regionale Marche Puglia, curated by Enea Chersicola and Riccardo Tripodi, Trieste, Italy
- In//Between #4, Green hill gallery, Berlin, Germany.
2018
- Premio Marche-Biennale d’arte contemporanea, Forte Malatesta, Ascoli Piceno, Italy
- X Sottrazione, curated by Serena Scolaro, Palazzo Parissi, Monteprandone, Italy
2017
- Rassegna Internazionale d’Arte Premio G.B. Salvi, curated by Stefano Papetti, Palazzo della Pretura, Sassoferrato, Italy
- Marche, lo stato dell’arte-Biennale Arteinsieme 2017, Museo Archeologico Nazionale delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
2016
- What’s the problem?, curated by Franko B, public art project at Garibaldi Parking, Macerata, Italy
- 66^ Rassegna Internazionale d’Arte Premio G.B. Salvi, curated by Nunzio Giustozzi and Daniela Simoni, Palazzo della Pretura, Sassoferrato, Italy
- Vibrators due, curated by Franko B, Il Pozzo, Macerata, Italy
Awards, Residencies, Artist Talks & Workshops
2025
- In conversation: artist Francesco Gioacchini, artist talk part of Gallery Weekend Berlin, Soho House Berlin, Germany
2024
- Macht des Spiegels, 2024, by Ido Gotlib, drawings by Francesco Gioacchini (Art Department)
2023
- Paint with Francesco Gioacchini, painting workshop at Soho House Berlin, Germany
2022
- Art Matters #5: Honourable mention, Open call by Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, Germany
2021
- Art Clinic, artist talk hosted by WerkStadt Berlin e.V, Berlin, Germany
- Combat Prize 2021: Shortlisted, Livorno, Italy
- Rea Art Fair 2021, Group Exhibition Prize: Winner, Milan, Italy.
2020
- Exibart Prize 2020: Shortlisted, exibartprize.com
- Climate change to go: Artist Talk hosted by Group Global 3000, Berlin, Germany
- Hastings Open: Shortlisted for group exhibition, Hastings, UK
2019
- Lynx Art Prize: Shortlisted for Regional Pavillions group exhibition, Trieste, Italy
- In//Between #4: Residency at Kulturschöpfer / Green hill gallery, Berlin, Germany
2018
- Premio Marche - Biennale d’arte contemporanea: Winner. Ascoli Piceno, Italy
2017
- 67° Premio Internazionale d’Arte G. B. Salvi: Shortlisted, Sassoferrato, Italy
- Premio Arte 2017: Shortlisted, Milan, Italy
2016
- Collaboration on The Floating Piers project by Christo, Iseo Lake, Italy
- Premio Roma olimpica passato e futuro: Shortlisted, Rome, Italy
- 66° Premio Internazionale d’Arte G. B. Salvi: Shortlisted, Sassoferrato, Italy
Selected Publications
Catalogues (printed)
2022
- Alias, catalogue of group exhibition, p. 24-27
2021
- Combat Prize 2021, catalogue of group exhibition, p. 21. ISBN 9788833402505
- Rea Art Fair 2021, catalogue of art fair, pp. 96-97. ISBN 9788894571417
2020
- Est e Ovest, catalogue of group exhibition, pp. 54-55. ISBN 9791280022073
- Re-see, catalogue of group exhibition, pp. 32-39
2019
- In//Between #4, brochure of group exhibition
2018
- Premio Marche 2018 - Biennale d’arte contemporanea, catalogue of group exhibition, pp. 122 and 207. ISBN 9788895052229
- Equilibri d’identità, brochure of solo exhibition
2017
- 67^ Rassegna Internazionale d’Arte Premio G.B. Salvi, catalogue of group exhibition, pp. 208-211. ISBN 9788839210234
2016
- 66^ Rassegna Internazionale d’Arte Premio G.B. Salvi, catalogue of group exhibition, pp. 204-205. ISBN 9788839210142
Art Magazines (printed)
2024
- Exibart prize N4 - Studio visit, p. 8
2020
- Bluebee Magazine Issue n° 4 - Daffodil, p. 23
2018
- Juliet Art Magazine n° 190 - December 2018, p. 6. ISSN 11222050
- Juliet Art Magazine n° 188 - June 2018, p. 8. ISSN 11222050
2017
- Arte, n° 529 - September 2017, Cairo Editore - Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori, p. 18. ISSN 1122585870529
Online
2025
- 15 Jahre Soho House Berlin: Wie üppig sich das Hotel nun selbst beschenkt, berliner-zeitung.de, 10 May, 2025
- Your Guide to Gallery Weekend Berlin 2025, sleek-mag.com, 2 May, 2025
- Gallery Weekend Berlin 2025: Diese Ausstellungen und Events sollten Sie sich vormerken, vogue.de, 1 May, 2025
2024
- Per le strade di Bologna i poster contro la guerra, arte.sky.it, 14 Set. 2024
- 200 poster in strada per sabotare la retorica della guerra: è la nuova sfida di Cheap a Bologna, exibart.com, 10 Set. 2024
2022
- The story behind the new stairwell artwork in Soho House Berlin, sohohouse.com, 24 Nov., 2022
- Alias - mostra ReA! Art Prize 2021, artribune.com, 10 May, 2022
- Alias di ReA! Arte, una lettura del mondo contemporaneo attraverso il lavoro di nove artisti internazionali, artslife.com, 5 May, 2022
- 5 questions with the artist: Francesco Gioacchini, artsted.com, 16 Feb., 2022
2021
- ReA! Art Fair, Milan. History as a teacher of life: in today’s art it is worth little, but it is not a lack of respect, lampoonmagazine.com, 7 Oct., 2021
- Il Combat Prize 2021 apre le porte: ecco i finalisti in mostra a Livorno, exibart.com, 15 Sep., 2021
- ReA! Art Fair 2021. La reazione dell’arte emergente, balloonproject.it, 19 Sep., 2021
- Unblock Fair Art Fair puts a spotlight on Lichtenberg, berliartlink.com, 8 Sep., 2021
- È aperta ReA! Art Fair a Milano, artribune.com, 4 Sep., 2021
- Antagónicos, Art book published on antagonicos.com, 4 Feb., 2021
- Young Italian Artists - Francesco Gioacchini, arshake.com, 18 Jan., 2021
2020
- Artist Interview | Francesco Gioacchini, artsy.net, 21 Jun., 2020
- Exhibition Re-see, artsy.net, 6 Jun., 2020
- Re-see, artland.com, 6 Jun., 2020
- Exhibition Re-see, medium.com, 6 Jun., 2020
- Re-see, artrabbit.com, 6 Jun., 2020
- Interview with Francesco Gioacchini, untitledv.com, 22 Mar., 2020.
2019
- Vernissage: In//Between #4, artconnect.com, 1 Aug., 2019
2018
- Francesco Gioacchini/Iacopo Pinelli - Equilibri d’identità, exibart.com, 16 Nov. 2018
- Francesco Gioacchini. Missing Days, rivistasegno.eu, 21 Oct., 2018
- Francesco Gioacchini - Missing Days, exibart.com, 20 Oct., 2018
- Missing Days di Francesco Gioacchini, insulaeuropea.eu, 20 Oct., 2018
- Critical Grounds #10, Glenn Ligon - Pensieri di confine / Border Thoughts, arshake.com, ISBN 9788898709083
__________
__________
12 December: Finalist 5 of 9
JKB FLETCHER
Landmass, 2021
oil on canvas
150 × 150 cm
The work is available via our web shop. Click here for more information!
It's day 5 of our 15th ART MATTERS online group exhibition: British painter JKB FLETCHER (*1982, lives and works in Luxembourg) is our fifth of nine finalists. From a distance, Fletcher's works appear like blurred black-and-white photographs. Up close, it becomes clear how he uses his brush to create this blurriness, but also an astonishing depth. Read more about JKB Fletcher and his work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 16 December, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 17 December at 5pm and at 6pm, we will announce the 2 winners of our online competition: they will be invited to participate in the 2nd physical ART MATTERS group exhibition in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early December 2026.
STATEMENT
I paint landscapes. Big ones. Trees, mountains, water – the usual suspects. They don’t come with a message or a manifesto. I’m not trying to save the art world or reinvent painting. I just think there’s something powerful in silence and beauty, something you might want to look at for longer than five seconds.
The work sits somewhere between real life and a memory – clear enough to recognise, vague enough to mean whatever you want it to. You don’t need a theory to like it. If it hits, it hits and If it ends up looking good above your sofa, well, that’s not my fault.
CV
JKB Fletcher
*1982 in Solihull, UK
lives and works in Bridel, LU
Education
2006
- BFA (Honours), Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Scotland, UK
Solo Exhibitions
2025
- ‚Formations', DavisKlemm Gallery, DE / 'Echo', Nosbaum Reding, LU / 'Echo’s', AW, Howald, LU
2023
-‚Blue Work', Kunstverein Dillingen, DE
2022
- ‚Abundance', Nosbaum Reding, LU
2020
- ‚Landmass', Nosbaum Reding, LU
2015
- ‚Social Portrait: Photorealism Post Internet', Metro Gallery, Melbourne, AUS
2014
- ‚Digital Photography', Espace H2O, LU
2012
- ‚Role Models', Metro Gallery, Melbourne, AU
2011
- ‚Angles with Dirty Faces', FortyFive Downstairs, Melbourne, AU
2010
- ‚In the Flesh', Carbon Black Gallery, Melbourne, AU
Group Exhibitions / Art Fairs
2025
- 'ART MATTERS 15', Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, DE (online) / 'PopUp Gallery, Amsterdam / UGIGRAFF, Musée de la Résistance
2024
- Art Week Luxembourg / MNHR / Pavillon du Centenaire-Galerie
2023
- Art Week Luxembourg / Konschthal Esch / Rarity Gallery / DavisKlemm Gallery, DE / Art Geneva
2022
- Luxembourg Art Week / BRAFA / Art Geneva
2021
- Art Dijon / Art Week, LU
2020
- Art Geneva / Art2Cure
2019
- Halle Victor Hugo, Luxembourg Art Week / Art2Cure, Banque Internationale à Luxembourg
2018
- Art2Cure, Banque Internationale à Luxembourg / Bernard Massard, Grevenmacher
2017
- Halle Victor Hugo, Luxembourg Art Week / Plus One Gallery, London
2016
- Plus One Gallery, London (Opening)
2015
- Cercle Artistique de Luxembourg, Salon 2015 / Luxembourg Art Week
2014
- Arcadia Contemporary, Miami Art Fair / Dropr, London / Arcadia Contemporary, New York Art Fair / Plus One Gallery, London
2013
- ‚Shared Space', Carlton, Melbourne / 'The Art of Fashion', Metro Gallery, Melbourne / Plus One Gallery, London
2012
- ‚White Warehouse' (with Michael Staniak), Melbourne / 'Six Years Later', Melbourne / Plus One Gallery, London / 'Climate Change', Metro Gallery, Melbourne
2011
- ‚Things to Come', Metro Gallery, Melbourne
2009
- Melbourne Art Fair, BSG, Melbourne
2008
- Lounge, Birmingham / Frankston Art Centre, Cube 37
2007
- Gallery Heinzel / Bridge View Gallery, Aberdeen
2006
- Sun Gallery, Fife / The White Gallery, Dundee / The Meffan Gallery, Forfar / Wall Projects, '69 Degrees', Fife / RSA ‚Student Exhibition', Edinburgh / Dundee University, Scotland
Public Collections / Awards
2022
- MNHA, LU
2015
- CAL, Finalist Selection, LU
2012
- Doug Moran Art Award, Shortlisted Selection, Melbourne, AUS
2011
- Metro Gallery Art Award, Finalist Selection, Melbourne, AUS
2010
- ‚Six Degrees', Frankston Art Centre, Cube 37, Finalist Selection, Melbourne, AUS
__________
__________
11 December: Finalist 4 of 9
KYUNGSEO LEE
Exchange, 2025
oil on canvas
25,5 x 20 cm
The work is available via our web shop. Click here for more information!
Day 4 of our 15th ART MATTERS online group exhibition: Today, we are pleased to present the young London-based artist KYUNGSEO LEE (*1995 in South Korea). In Lee's loose paintings, figures morph into abstraction, shifting from form to expression and dissolving into surface marks and gestures. It is all about fluidity, and the colours flow and merge themselves, bringing ambiguity to its fullest extent. Read more about Kyungseo Lee and her work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 16 December, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 17 December at 5pm and at 6pm, we will announce the 2 winners of our online competition: they will be invited to participate in the 2nd physical ART MATTERS group exhibition in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early December 2026.
STATEMENT
Within my practice, I explore the conflicting emotions and values towards the human experience. The erotically charged images serve as a stressor to the viewer, challenging one’s own ambivalence on the topic of ‘body image’. Grey areas in between the binaries of bodily celebration and objectification, right and wrong, good and evil have been a continuing topic and interest for me. Experiencing the polarised society in Korea especially in my generation, has drawn me to explore the spaces in between. I am also driven by a genuine curiosity and admiration for how each individual carries their own universe of values and experiences.
The figures in my paintings morph into abstraction, shifting from form to expression. I have been specifically working on the fluidity in my paintings. To achieve this, I choose to pull back and restrain the brush, leaving parts of the canvas empty. I let the colours flow and merge themselves, bringing ambiguity to its fullest extent. Working with a loose painterly style, the figure soon dissolves into surface marks and gestures.
CV
Kyungseo Lee
*1995 in South Korea
lives and works in London
Education
2021-23
- MA Painting, Royal College of Art, London, UK
2014-20
- BFA Painting, Hongik University, London, UK
2016-20
- BFA Visual Communication Design, Hongik University, Seoul, Korea
2016
- Illustration (Exchange Programme), Paris College of Art, Paris, France
2011-14
- Seoul Arts High School, Seoul, Korea
Solo Exhibitions
2024
- Phosphenes, Gallery Belenius, Stockholm, Sweden
- Demian, Makasiini Contemporary, Turku, Finland
2021
- Love Me/Love Me Not, LKIF Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Group Exhibitions
2025
- ART MATTERS 15, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, Germany (online)
- Dolce Far Niente, MyMA, US (online)
- The Self-Portrait Prize Exhibition, Ruth Borchard Collection, UK (online)
- EXH15, Floorr Magazine, UK (online)
- Open Studio, Revue Studios (Soho Revue Residency), London, UK
2024
- Walk While You Have the Light, Safehouse 1, London, UK
- In the Emancipation of Self, D Contemporary, London, UK
- Carnalia (Duo Exhibition with Hannah Lim), Blue Shop Gallery, London, UK
2023
- This is Not a Toxic Field, Galleria PADA (PADA Residency), Lisbon, Portugal
- SSA 125th Annual Exhibition, Maclaurin Art Gallery, Ayr, UK
- RCA Painting Degree Show, The Truman Brewery, London, UK
- Works on Paper 5, Blue Shop Cottage (now Blue Shop Gallery), UK (online)
- South Open, OHSH Projects, Peckham Arches, London, UK
- Old and New, Show and Tell x Pick and Place, Seoul, Korea
2022
- 1:1:1, KO Art & Antiques, UK (online)
- Oneiric, Purslane Art, UK (online)
- TERRA, SET Studios Gallery, London, UK
- Collaboration with The Little Scarlet Door, Soho Revue, London, UK
- Works on Paper 4, Blue Shop Cottage (now Blue Shop Gallery), UK (online)
- Come One Come All, The Function Suite, London, UK
- RAW, Soho Revue, London, UK
- WIP Show, Royal College of Art, UK (online)
2021
- Drying Time, Gallery 100_0, Seoul, Korea
2020
- Poster Factory, 9AND, Seoul, Korea
2019
- BFA Degree Show (Visual Design), Hongik University, Seoul, Korea
2018
- BFA Degree Show (Painting), Hongik University, Seoul, Korea
2017
- Open Studio, Department of Painting, Hongik University, Seoul, Korea
- FLESH, Gallery HOARD, Seoul, Korea
2016
Open studio with Reeha Lim, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
EMERGENCE, Le Pavé d'Orsay, Paris, France
Awards & Scholarships
2025
- The Self-Portrait Prize (Longlist), Bournemouth, UK
- Jackson’s Art Prize (Extended Longlist), London, UK
2022
- The Waverton Art Prize (Longlist), London, UK
2017
- Adobe Design Achievement Awards (Semifinalist), California, USA
- Overseas Scholarship, Hongik University, Seoul, Korea
Residencies
2025
- Revue Studios (Soho Revue Gallery), London, UK
2023
- PADA Studios Artist-in-Residence, Lisbon, Portugal
2016-17
- Cité Internationale des Arts Residency, Paris, France
Collaboration
2022
- Exhibition and Artwork Acquired by Nike, Nike SNKRS Hongdae, Seoul, Korea
Teaching Experience
2023
- Artist Talk and Tutorial, Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), Cambridge, UK
- Artist Talk and Workshop, University for the Creative Arts (UCA), Farnham, UK
2022
- Workshop, Camberwell College of Arts (UAL), London, UK
__________
__________
10 December: Finalist 3 of 9
FRANCISCO GONZALEZ CAMACHO
Elsewhere, 2025
Photopolymer etching on Kozo Misu, Mansonia frame, museum glass
36 x 29 cm
edition 3/5
The work is available via our web shop. Click here for more information!
Day 3 of our 15th ART MATTERS online group exhibition: Spanish photo artist FRANCISCO GONZALEZ CAMACHO (born in 1990, lives and works in Finland) is our third of nine finalists. As part of his meditative series ‘Elsewhere’ (which deals with themes such as family, mortality and the connection between landscape and self), his submitted work explores the idea of alienation, bringing nature to the fore as a coping mechanism and transcendental space. Read more about Francisco Gonzalez Camacho and his work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 16 December, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 17 December at 5pm and at 6pm, we will announce the 2 winners of our online competition: they will be invited to participate in the 2nd physical ART MATTERS group exhibition in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early December 2026.
STATEMENT
Based in Helsinki, Spanish artist Francisco Gonzalez Camacho's practice focuses on themes of family, mortality, and the connectedness between landscape and self. In Elsewhere, Camacho explores the idea of displacement with nature emerging as a coping mechanism and transcendental space. The ongoing project, developed over the last two years in Finland, combines elements of poetic narration, references to pictorialism, and the use of infrared photography.
"The submitted work is part of my series, Elsewhere, which takes an introspective dive into my own immigrating journey to Finland, and the feelings of isolation consequently involved, using the landscape as a tool for emotional catharsis. I present a space for contemplation, interwinding elements of poetic narration, infrared photography and references to pictorialism.
It reflects upon the deeper material connection between landscape and image-making through an exploration of traditional printing techniques like photopolymer etching and the use of handmade Japanese paper.“
CV
Francisco Gonzalez Camacho
*1990 in Spain
lives and works in Finland
Education
2025
- MA Art and Media, Photography, Aalto University, Finland
2020
- BA Documentary Photography at University of South Wales, United Kingdom
Solo Exhibitions
2025
- United Nations University (UNU), SEEEU 2025, European Photography Month, Tokyo, Japan
- InCadaqués Photo Festival, Catalunia, Spain
- The Griffin Museum of Photography, Massachusetts, United States
- Galeria Valid Foto, Barcelona, Spain
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025
- ART MATTERS 15, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, Germany, Online exhibition
- Lucie Scholarship Program & Lucie Photo Book Prize exhibition (projection), The REEF, Los Angeles, United States
- Sony World Photography Awards, satellite exhibition at Salon de la Photo, Paris, France
- Der Greif, Guest Room: Christine Marie Serchia & Charlotte Jansen, Online exhibition
- Unbound 14, Candela Books + Gallery, Richmond, United States
- TEOS 2025, Kaapelitehdas, Helsinki, Finland
- Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition (projection), Somerset House, London, United Kingdom
- IPE 166, International Photography Exhibition at Saatchi Gallery, London, United Kingdom
- Living Image, The Halide Project, Philadelphia, United States
2024
- Fondazione Francesco Fabbri, group exhibition at Villa Brandolini, Treviso, Italy
- Photo Fringe OPEN Eco, Brighton, United Kingdom
- Der Greif, Guest-Room: Michael Famighetti, Online exhibition
- ‘You're Innocent in Your Dreams', collective exhibition at ZERO art space, Tokyo, Japan
- The Active Image: Political Ecologies & Photographic Agency Exhibition, Bristol, United Kingdom
- Fresh Eyes Talents group exhibition and book launch at Haute Photographie, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- A Testament to Loss, Too Tired Projects, Online Exhibition
- Etheriality, group exhibition at Photobook Cafe, London, United Kingdom#
- 30th Annual Members Juried Exhibition, The Griffin Museum of Photography, Massachusetts, United States
- Open Studio Korpúlfsstaðir, SÍM Residency, Reykjavík, Iceland
- Young Portfolio Satellite Exhibition at Place M, Tokyo, Japan
2023
- FOCUS photo l.a. 2023 finalists' exhibition, Galerie XII, Los Angeles. United States
- Young Portfolio Acquisitions, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Japan
- Fresh Eyes Talents group exhibition at Haute Photographie, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Der Greif, Guest-Room: Marina Paulenka, Online exhibition
- 8. Marta Hoepffner-Preis für Fotografie 2023, Stadtmuseum Hofheim am Taunus, Germany
- Tides, Galleria Ahjo, Espoo Cultural Centre, Espoo, Finland
- Bloom 2023, Young Artists’ Exhibition at Lokal Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
- Kolga Tbilisi Photo, Georgia
- 17th Edition Arte Laguna Prize, Arsenale of Venice, Italy
- Freedom Redefined: Rotterdam Photo, Netherlands
- MoA 23 exhibition, Finnish Museum of Photography, Finland
2022
- “Darkness” group show, FLOOR_, Seoul, South Korea
- Salong CFF 2022, Vulkano, Gothenburg, Sweden
- BOOKED 22, MUU Helsinki Contemporary Art Centre, Cable Factory, Finland
- Emerging Vision: Biennial Student Show, Colorado Photographic Art Center (CPAC), Denver, United States
- International Juried Exhibition (IJE) at the Center for Photographic Art (CPA), California, United States
- Fringe Arts Barth, Bath Open Art Prize, at 44AD Artspace, Bath, United Kingdom
- AAVA 2022, Art in Porkkala, Porkkalanniemi, Finland
- The Auxiliary Project Space, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
2020
- Emergence, The Glasgow Gallery of Photography. Glasgow, United Kingdom
- Free Walkers, Seili Field Course, Väre, Aalto University, Finland
2019
- The Mutterscream: Crepuscular Lush, West Wharf Gallery, Cardiff, United Kingdom
2018
- USW group exhibition at Guernsey Photography Festival. Guernsey, United Kingdom
- Una mirada a Africa.Centro de Congresos y Exposiciones, San Fernando, Cadiz, Spain
Publications
2025
- IPE 166, International Photography Exhibition zine
- Reverting, exhibition catalogue by Griffin Museum of Photography
- Coups de cœur, Fisheye Magazine #73: Amour
- Reverting, exhibition catalogue by Griffin Museum of Photography
- Sony World Photography Awards book
- Anarchyº2, ephemere.tokyo
- Borders and Boundaries, Safelight Paper
2024
- Artdoc Magazine, Expressive Nature
- Der Greif, Issue 17 by Torbjørn Rødland
- Moon, Collective Book by DITO Publishing
- Imperfect Poetry, Float Magazine
- Fresh Eyes International vol. 2, GUP Magazine
2023
- The Hand Magazine, Issue 43
- Young Portfolio Acquisitions exhibition catalogue, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts
- All About Photo 'Nature' Awards, Issue 33
- B&W Minimalism Magazine, Issue 38
- 8. Marta Hoepffner-Preis für Fotografie exhibition catalogue by Stadtmuseum Hofheim am Taunus
- Fresh Eyes International, GUP Magazine
2022
- Elsewhere, Self-publish Photobook, edition of 100
- Handbali Magazine Volume 4
Residencies
2026
- Collotype workshop, Benrido Atelier, Japan
2025
- Rancho Linda Vista, United Sates
2024
- Art print Residence, Spain
- SÍM Residency, Iceland
2023
- The Åland Archipielago Guest Artist Residence, Finland
Awards & Grants
2025
- Lucie Scholarship Program by Lucie Foundation, honorable mention
- Hariban Award, juror’s choice award
- Incadaqués Photo Festival, special mention
- Innovative Grant, honorable mention
- City of Espoo, working grant
- Frame Contemporary Art Finland
- Sony World Photography Awards, shortlist
- Art and Media Grant, Aalto University
- Material Works Art Award, shortlist
2024
- Amedeo Modigliani Foundation Prize, winner
- The Independent Photographer, open call award, finalist
- Premio Francesco Fabbri, finalist
- Graciela Iturbide MA-g Awards, The Museum of Avant-Garde, finalist
- Radar Photo Festival, shortlist
- OD Photo Prize, longlist
- Life Framer, Planet Earth, editor's pick
- Photolucida, Critical Mass, Top 200
- The Hopper Prize, finalist
- Griffin Museum 30th Annual Members Juried Exhibition, honorable mention and exhibition award
2023
- Nobuyoshi Araki MA-g Awards, The Museum of Avant-Garde, shortlisted
- Daylight Photo Awards, Juror Pick
- Paris Photo - Carte Blanche Students, finalist
- Revela’T Festival, Portfolio Review, third prize winner
- 8. Marta Hoepffner-Preis für Fotografie, shortlisted
- Life Framer Series Award, finalist
- All About Photo Nature Awards, particular merit mention
- Kolga Tbilisi Photo Award 2023, shortlisted
- Chico Review & Publishing Prize, attendee
- Descubrimientos PhotoEspaña, selected- Finnfoto Scholarship
- Art and Media Grant, Aalto University
2022
- Art and Media Grant, Aalto University
- Booooooom Photo Book Award, winner
2020
- ND Awards, honorable mention
- Monovisions Awards, honorable mention
2019
- The Reginald Salisbury Travel Award
Collections
- Griffin Museum of Photography, United States
- Candela Gallery, United States
- Amedeo Modigliani Foundation, Italy
- The Museum of Avant-Garde, Switzerland
- Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Japan
__________
__________
9 December: Finalist 2 of 9
CHIAU-SYUAN CHAI
Haus Sammlung 100, 2024
ceramics
35 x 27 x 1,2 cm (two-part)
The work is available via our web shop. Click here for more information!
Day 2 of our 15th ART MATTERS online group exhibition: Today, we are delighted to introduce the young Hamburg-based artist CHIAU-SYUAN CHAI (*1996 in Taipei, Taiwan). Chai's sculptural wall object is the 100th and final work in her series ‘Haus Sammlung 100’ (House Collection 100) and marks the conclusion of a three-year project. It consists of two geometric ceramic slabs that join into one house and reflects the artist's thoughts on home and belonging between Taiwan and Germany. Read more about Chiau-Syuan Chai and her work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 16 December, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 17 December at 5pm and at 6pm, we will announce the 2 winners of our online competition: they will be invited to participate in the 2nd physical ART MATTERS group exhibition in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early December 2026.
STATEMENT
My work examines themes of home and urban life through various mediums, including ceramics, wood, and paper. Through simplified forms and structured compositions, I explore how architecture reflects both the functional and emotional aspects of living spaces, transforming architectural elements into visual representations of cityscapes.
'House Collection 100':
At the end of 2024, I completed House Collection 100, a three-year series of ceramic works. While living in various European countries, I studied residential architecture through the lens of visual art, documenting its forms and transforming them into ceramic pieces. These buildings, imbued with both functional and emotional significance, were reimagined as abstract, flattened house images, capturing only their silhouettes.
I intentionally used clay with textures and colors that mimic actual construction materials, adjusting the proportion of grog to create subtle textural variations. This process resembled a series of miniature architectural projects, mixing wet clay with grog (symbolizing cement) and polishing surfaces to maintain an ongoing dialogue with the collected images of houses.
CV
Chiau-Syuan Chai
*1996 in Taipei, TW
lives and works in Hamburg, DE
Education
2018
- Bachelor of Fine Arts, Taipei National University of Arts, Taipei, Taiwan
2023
- Master of Fine Arts under Prof. Jorinde Voigt, Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Hamburg
Selected Exhibitions
2025
- ART MATTERS 15, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online)
- Salon der Gegenwart, 15Jahre Re-united, sdg, Hamburg
- Salon Abend 20, Ebbing Architect, Bochum
- Young Fresh Different 25, Zilberman Gallery, Berlin
- Mausgrau, Lycra Raum, Hamburg
- Reduktion x Repetition x Reflexion, Raum Links Rechts, Hamburg
- Fragments and Relation, The Space, Hamburg
2024
- Art Auction 13, Weserhalle, Berlin
- Collective Gaze, Project Room – Dosenfabrik, Hamburg
- 3 x 3 x 3 - Project House 3, Gallery Hyle, Hamburg
- Plan A _Untitled, Mumu Gallery, Tainan, TW
- Negative Space – Duet, Gallery Rainer Gröschl, Kiel
- Spotlight Taiwan, Gallery Atelier lll, Barmstedt
- Unlimited Painting, Gallery K146, Hamburg
- Salon Abend17 – maison rêvée 29, Ebbing Architect, Bochum
2023
- Salon der Gegenwart 2023, sdg, Hamburg
- Kunstauktion Rotary Club Berlin-Luftbrücke, Berlin
- Heavy Match, bei Wiensowski & Harbord, Berlin
- HFBK Graduation Show 2023, Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Hamburg
- Kurzurlaub, Evelyn Drewes Gallery, Hamburg
- 6+6 Diaspora Dialogues, Kunstquartier Bethanien-Studio 1, Berlin
2022
- Berlin Art Fair – "Academy Positions 2022", Tempelhof Airport, Hangar 5-6, Berlin
- Sommer.Frische.Kunst.-Masterclasses, Power plant, Bad Gastein
- Glück in Glückstadt, Palace for contemporary art, Glückstadt
2021
- HFBK Annual Exhibition 2021, Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Hamburg
Awards & Funding
2024
- Project Funding of National Culture and Arts Foundation, Taiwan
2023
- Project Funding Karl H. Ditze Stiftung, Germany
2022
- Government Scholarship to Study Abroad / GSSA, Taiwan
__________
__________
8 December: Finalist 1 of 9
CITLALI L. HALFAR
Today we are launching our 15th ART MATTERS online group exhibition with the presentation of a work submitted by Düsseldorf-based painter CITLALI L. HALFAR (*2004). Halfar's casual portraits of people from her immediate surroundings are based on everyday moments in which her subjects are very calm and absorbed in themselves, allowing their characters to shine through most clearly. Read more about Citlali L. Halfar and her work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 16 December, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 17 December at 5pm and at 6pm, we will announce the 2 winners of our online competition: they will be invited to participate in the 2nd physical ART MATTERS group exhibition in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early December 2026.
STATEMENT
As a teenager, I mainly worked with graphite, and since starting university, I have devoted myself almost exclusively to oil painting. However, people have always been the subject that interests me the most by far.
More specifically, I depict people in my immediate environment whom I know very well, because that is the only way a picture can be interesting to me. I often portray them in classic portrait situations, all of which are based on real, unposed situations that I encounter in my everyday life.
The concept of memories plays a particularly important role in my painting, as by elaborating on a person in a selected moment, I have to confront every detail of that moment and thus relive this memory in a differentiated way from my current perspective. In recent years, I have often depicted scenarios that I did not witness myself, but which are nevertheless closely interwoven with my life. These were mostly references from my mother, which allow me to understand her role before my existence and thus explore her and my Mexican background.
However, my painting currently focuses mainly on my two younger sisters, who are slowly approaching adulthood. The contradictions that arise in this stage of life and the aesthetics that an individual person indulges in are reflected in my depictions.
I look for moments in which my perception of their realities of life is expressed, thus capturing their radiant personalities. These are mostly moments when they are very calm and preoccupied with themselves, as this is when their characters are most noticeable.
CV
Citlali L. Halfar
*2004 in Stuttgart, DE
lives and works in Düsseldorf, DE
Education
2022-23
- Orientation Course Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
2023-25
- Kunstakademie Düsseldorf with Prof. Ellen Gronemeyer
since 2025
- Kunstakademie Düsseldorf with Prof. Kati Heck
Selected Exhibitions
2025
- Group Show ART MATTERS 15, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online)
- Kuboshow Art Fair
- CASA Group Show, AstA-Ausstellungsraum, Düsseldorf
- Fresh Positions Group Show, BBK, Düsseldorf
2024
- Kombi Group Show, Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin
- Kuboshow Art Fair
- Gruppenausstellung, Kunstzentrum Wachsfabrik, Cologne
2022
- Duo Show ,,Story Lines"
Work Experience
since 2024
-Assistant Painter (Working Student), Studio Vivian Greven
__________
________________
ART MATTERS 14 – Special Summer Edition
Online Group Exhibition
"Still Life": How do artists today interpret one of the oldest genres in art history? And who hits the mark with us?
18 – 27 August 2025 (available online until 3 September)
1 new artist daily at 6pm CET
exclusively here and on: Instagram, Galerie Biesenbach Webshop and Facebook
FINALE: Wednesday 27 August at 6pm CET
We announce the winner of our online competition: He or she will be invited to participate in the physical group exhibition "Still Life" in our gallery in Cologne in September/October 2026.
Following our 14th Open Artist Call, we launch our new ART MATTERS online group exhibition Still Life on Monday 18 August at 6pm CET. From all applications received, we have selected 9 finalists, who will be presented with their submitted artworks here on our website, on Instagram and on Facebook, one after the other until 26 August. Every day at 6pm CET, a new name and artwork will be unveiled so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole. The presentation of our Top 9 is rounded off by the "Honourable Mentions" in our daily Instagram stories, in which we acknowledge the works of a selected number of artists who just missed the final cut (27, to be exact, posted in our Instagram stories from 19 to 27 August, 3 per day and between noon and 6pm).
Finale: On Wednesday 27 August at 6pm we will announce the winner of our online competition: he or she will be invited to participate in the physical group group exhibition Still Life in our gallery space in Cologne, which will open beginning of September 2026.
We invite you to visit ART MATTERS 14 regularly here on our website, Instagram and Facebook.
About our ART MATTERS series:
As with our previous 13 Open Artist Calls since April 2020 – 11 regular editions and 2 special summer editions – we were aware of how diverse and eclectic this 14th online exhibition could be. Especially when we choose "Still Life" as our theme, one of the oldest genres in art history.But it is precisely the idea of an open call that continues to appeal to us: inviting artists from a wide variety of backgrounds to apply and submit their work. From this multitude of perspectives and positions, we hope to create an exhibition that shows a field of tension, but also a symbiotic dialogue between the individual works of art. An exhibition that fits in with the orientation and philosophy of the gallery, but also brings something new to our programme.
You can check out our first 13 ART MATTERS shows in the archive further down.
PS: Our next open call ART MATTERS 15 will take place in November 2025… Then again without any specific theme!
FINALS DAY: Wednesday 27 August
RAFAEL TRIANA – Winner "ART MATTERS 14: Still Life"
It's time to announce the winner of our 14th ART MATTERS online competition: Congratulations to Paris-based artist RAFAEL TRIANA (*1988 in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba), whom we hereby invite to participate in the group exhibition ‘Still Life’ at our gallery in Cologne, opening in early September 2026.
When we launched our call for entries on the theme of ‘Still Life’ a few weeks ago, we had no idea what the resulting online exhibition would look like, as this naturally depends on the submissions. But we had an idea from the beginning of what the physical ‘Still Life’ exhibition in our gallery should look like. And Rafael Triana fits our vision perfectly!
In making our selection (both for the online exhibition and the winner), it was important to us to consider certain characteristics of the classical art form of still life: the depiction/collection of inanimate objects, the compositional arrangement of these objects, the focus on aesthetics and texture, the play of light and shadow, and allegorical meaning. These characteristics are evident not only in Triana's submitted work, but throughout almost his entire oeuvre.
Triana's sculptural still life installation offers a contemporary reinterpretation of this art form: humorous, ironic and subversive. The artist uses vacuum drying technology to encapsulate plastic food, delivering a precise critique of the dynamics of control, dehumanisation and simulation inherent in today's migration and automation systems. In his own words: "The encapsulation, which functions as a formal and conceptual gesture, translates the language of automation and control into an aesthetic medium. Nylon and vacuum not only serve as containers, but also reconfigure the relationship between materiality and absence, prompting critical reflection on the commodification of human existence. Through this strategy, the work not only problematises the dynamics of exclusion and exploitation, but also highlights the process by which life itself is subsumed into a technocratic logic that privileges simulation and reproduction over human beings."
RAFAEL TRIANA
Vacuum Play, 2025
plastic toys for children, machine vacuum-sealed in industrial nylon bags.
dimensions variable: installation of over 120 pieces adaptable to the exhibition space
STATEMENT
I AM ALL THOSE THINGS I DIDN’T NEED
by Zoa Tamara, Theatre Critic, Cuba, 2025
Rafael’s practice does not conform to an object-based or formalist logic. He does not produce works: he enunciates positions. His work displaces art from the territory of representation toward a politics of the gesture, where language disintegrates, repetition empties out, and meaning fractures.
Rather than showing, he interrupts. Instead of building images, he breaks grammars. What is activated in his work is a poetics of dysfunction, where matter does not sustain but rather signals the impossibility of connection, the erosion of the communal, failure as operative core.
In his practice, repetition does not reinforce – it disarms. Each return is a distortion. Memory is not archive, but residue. Subjectivity is not identity, but exposure to instability. In that field of tension, the work operates as a short circuit in the perceptual regime: a place where art does not aim to represent, but to disobey.
For Rafael, art is not an object. It is a critical, ethical, and political position. A way of inhabiting the fissure, of insisting on the margin, of turning failure into language.
CV
Rafael Triana
Rafael Triana (Ciego de Ávila, Cuba, 1988) is a Paris-based visual and multidisciplinary artist. His practice operates at the margins of representation, exploring gesture, failure, and dysfunction as critical strategies. Working across performance, installation, video, object, sculpture, and digital drawing, his work disrupts conventional logics of language and perception. A Gold Diploma graduate in Scenography from the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in Havana, his projects have been presented in theatrical, museum, and alternative spaces across Latin America and Europe.
www.rafael-triana.com
@rafaeltrianapez
Group Exhibitions
2024-25
- ART MATTERS 14, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online) – Vacuum Play
- 13th Edition of BADA – International Contemporary Art Fair, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Regalo
- Galería La Sindicalista Estudio, Cáceres, Spain – Sinfonía de la lluvia
- LATINISMO Art & Education, New York, USA – TEST
- Crocker Art Museum, California, USA – Chromatic Transvaluation
- 54th Pollença Biennial Art Contest (Finalist), Palma de Mallorca, Spain – How to Fold a Flag?
- DATARTE Prize (Finalist), Madrid, Spain – Smell of War
- Galería Sur – Latin American Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain – Haute Couture
- Arte Laguna Prize (Finalist), Arsenale of Venice, Italy – Hunger for Gold
- Art Talent Fair Prize, MOHO Gallery, Arte Padova, Italy – Perfume
- PHNMN Fréquences Festival, Paris, France – Haute Couture
- VAO UK International Emerging Artist Awards (Finalist), London, UK – Strike
- Rencontres Archipel, Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles / Paris, France – Hunger for Gold and Deep Sleep
- ART BATTALION Vol. VIII, Madrid, Spain – Aspirations
- YICCA Art Prize (Finalist), Milan, Italy – Strike
- ARTBOX.PROJECT, Switzerland – The Weight of Emptiness
- Chianciano Biennale, Museum of Terme Art, Italy – Strike
2022-23
- COMBAT Prize (Finalist), Livorno, Italy – Overload
- Artist Film Screening, MACBA Museum, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Overload
- Faenza Festival, Madrid, Spain – Sandbank
- PerFoArtNet International Performance Biennial, Bogotá, Colombia – Sisyphus
- 5th NEMO Festival (Tatami), Priego de Córdoba, Spain – Atlas
- 60Seconds Festival & One-Off Moving Image Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark – Home
2021-22
- Published in Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art Journal, Barcelona, Spain – Paralelo
- Published in Chroma Agency Digital Journal, Germany – Paralelo
- CLASH, THE HOLY ART Gallery, London, UK – Paralelo
- Group Exhibition, La Salita, Barcelona, Spain – Paralelo
2018
- ELECTROCHOC, 31st Les Instants Vidéo Festival, Marseille, France – Overload
- Annecy International Animation Film Festival, France – Evolución
- Madrid Gráfica Festival, Spain – City Person
- Kontemporánea Festival, Basque Country, Spain – The Artist’s Insomnia
- AUTRES PAYSAGES Festival, La Tostadora, Colombia – Sandbank
- 3rd International Video and Animation Art Biennial VEA, Puebla, Mexico – Evolución
2017
- Cold Bench, London, UK – Sandbank
- MADATAC Festival, Spain – Overload
- VIDEO BABEL Festival, Peru – Evolución
- INTERMEDIACIONES Festival, Bogotá, Colombia – Exchange
- WOTISART Review, London, UK – Card Game
- CARTÓN Festival, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Overload
- 3rd CMUCH Biennial, Mexico – Overload
- International Human Rights Film Festival, Bogotá, Colombia – Tea Time
- Pirineos Sur Festival, Spain – Sisyphus
2016
- VIDEO BABEL Festival, Cusco, Peru – Post-fake Dictatorship
- CUVO Festival, Madrid, Spain – Ideological Construction
- SUR-KO Festival, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil – Middle Class
- Video Bardo Festival, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Dogfight
- International Video Mapping Festival, Girona, Spain – Collective Memory
- BANG International Video Art Festival, Barcelona, Spain – Propagation
- Without Cardinal Points, Fidencia Art Space, Mexico – Rage
- Today is Any Day, in the Middle of 2030, Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, Spain – Rechargeable
- SIART International Biennial, La Paz, Bolivia – BIP – 20 Mud Spits
- BANG H2O / Contrast Gallery, Barcelona, Spain – Propagation
- BACOS International Biennial, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain – Jeff Koons’ Burden (ATEO Collective)
2015
- FIVA – International Video Art Festival, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Horizons Bleus
- 6th International Video Art Festival, Camagüey, Cuba – Horizons Bleus
- 5th International Video Art Festival, Camagüey, Cuba – GTM Time Zone
- Young Art Gallery, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba – Fábulas
- Factoría Gallery, Havana, Cuba – Lantern
Solo Exhibitions
2022
- Espace 16PROD, Paris, France – I Am All Those Things I Didn’t Need
2019
- EAC – Museum of Contemporary Art, Uruguay – The Truth? It’s All a Lie
2018
- Stripart Gallery, Guinardó Civic Center, Barcelona, Spain – Control Z
2015
- THE VOLTA Gallery, Girona, Spain – Cubaland
2014
- Zalle Zero Gallery, Alliance Française, Havana, Cuba – Help
Collections
- Museum of Terme Art, Italy – Strike
- Bòlit Contemporary Art Museum, Girona, Spain – Collective Memory
- Video Art Collection, El Almacén de las Artes, City Council of Astillero, Spain – Overload
Awards and Distinctions
2018
- Honorable Mention, 3rd International Biennial of Video and Animation Art, Puebla, Mexico – Evolución
2017
- First Prize, Video Art Competition, City Council of Astillero – El Almacén de las Artes, Spain – Overload
- First Mention, FIVAC Festival, Camagüey, Cuba – Overload
- Special Mention, International Film Festival of the Five Continents, Caracas, Venezuela – Overload
2014
- First Mention, Revolución y Cultura Award, 14th Art Fair, Cuba – Missed Call
- First Prize, Design Center of Visual Arts, Luz y Oficio Gallery, Havana, Cuba – Missed Call
Residencies and Projects
2025
- Cité Internationale des Arts, Montmartre, Paris, France – Project: Overdose
2024
- Lo Pati – Centre d’Art, in collaboration with Bòlit Contemporary Art Museum, Girona, Spain – Project: Perfume
- „Cuidar y Cuidarnos" Residency, Ha.aH LABORATORY, MANIFESTA 15 Biennial, Barcelona, Spain – Project: Urban Trace
2018
- Audiovisual Residency MADATAC, Casa de Velázquez, Madrid, Spain – Project: The Death of the Artist
2015
- Bòlit Contemporary Art Center, Girona, Spain – as part of FIMG – International Video Mapping Festival – Project: No Setup, Pero Yo
__________
__________
OUR TOP 9 AT ONE GLANCE:
Our final TOP 9 is complete – thank you for participating in our online group show ART MATTERS 14 – Still Life (from top left):
Julie Derbyshire – Harry van Renswou – Christiane Brams
Reinhard Hölker – Raha Rastifard – Diego Azzola
Friedhelm Falke – Rafael Triana – Vanessa Leissring
Tonight at 6pm we will announce the winner of our Art Matters 14 online competition!
About ART MATTERS 14:
For the 14th edition of ART MATTERS, it was once again difficult for us to select only 9 artists for our online show from the many outstanding submissions we received in response to our latest Open Artist Call on the theme of ‘Still Life’.
We hope that this multitude of perspectives and positions results in an exhibition that shows a field of tension, but also a symbiotic dialogue between the individual works of art. An exhibition that fits in with the orientation and philosophy of our gallery, but also definitely brings something new to our programme.
There is so much remarkable art out there, but we can't show it all in our gallery. The ART MATTERS series allows us to present many artistic positions from around the world to a wider online audience for about two weeks, three times a year.
Many thanks to everyone who has been following this project and many thanks also – above all – to all participating artists, especially to our TOP 9 and the 27 Honourable Mentions (some of whom we are still presenting today in our Instagram Stories).
__________
OUR 9 FINALISTS:
26 August: Finalist 9 of 9
VANESSA LEISSRING
Polyflowers_PERWOLL 2020 HENKEL, 2273, 2020
photography, Fine Art Print
120 x 80 cm
Day 9 of our 14th ART MATTERS group exhibition on the theme of ‘Still Life’: Before we announce the winner of our online competition tomorrow, today we present German photographic artist VANESSA LEISSRING (*1979, lives and works in Dortmund) as the last of our nine finalists. Her modern floral still life explores the contrast between nature and plastic and invites viewers to reflect on sustainability, beauty and artificial aesthetics. Read more about Vanessa Leissring and her work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 26 August, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 27 August at 6pm, we will announce the winner of our online competition: She or he will be invited to participate in the physical group exhibition ‘Still Life’ in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early September 2026.
STATEMENT
I am a photographer and artist, originally from Düsseldorf and now working in Dortmund. In my work, I consciously navigate the tension between fine art and commercial photography. Influenced by cinema movements such as the Nouvelle Vague and artists such as Ed Ruscha, I seek out the poetic in everyday life. I photograph people and places – and everything in between: moods, emptiness, traces of life. My portraits and series tell quiet stories, raising questions rather than providing answers.
In independent long-term projects such as ‘youth club’, ‘sports fields’ and ‘petrol stations’, I deal with the absence of people: spaces that, without their original function, appear strange, melancholic or ironic. The emptiness becomes a projection surface – what is missing comes into focus.
My current project, Polyflowers, deals with the contrast between nature and plastic. In a world flooded with plastic waste, I arrange flowering plants in PET bottles and place them in strong colour contrasts. Colour blocking reveals the dialogue between the synthetic and organic colour spectrums. The series invites viewers to engage with sustainability, beauty and artificial aesthetics – and asks the question: What remains when the natural is suffocated by the artificial?
CV
Vanessa Leissring
*1979 in Braunschweig, DE
lives and works in Dortmund, DE
Education
2023
- Master Photography - Photographic Studies at the FH Dortmund
- Master's degree in Modern and Contemporary Art History, Ruhr University Bochum
2009
- Diploma in Photo Design (FH) from Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts
- Thesis ‘I AM’ on the research topic of youth culture under Prof. Caroline Dlugos and Prof. Jörg Winde
2002-09
- Dortmund University of Applied Sciences, studied photo design with a stay in London, England
2001-02
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, studied art history and history
Photography
since 2009
- Freelance photographer with own photo studio
- Commissioned work for direct clients, agencies and magazines
- Clients include Universal Music, Selfmade Records, Tanzhaus NRW, Borussia Dortmund, NRW.BANK, NRW.INVEST, NRW.URBAN, Unitymedia, Architektenkammer NRW, Wallpaper Magazine*, Frame Magazine, Four Four Two Magazine, Djinns, Mens Health...
since 2009
- Freelance photographer for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
- Accompanying state ministers, secretaries of state and public figures
2008
- Internships with Martin Parr and the Magnum agency in London
2006
- Assistants to artists and advertising photographers: Hartmut Bühler, Andreas Gehrke/Noshe, Hänsel, Martin Jepp, Sonja Müller, Michael Reisch (darktaxa), Michael Stemprock
Teaching
2020
Alanus Werkhaus Training Centre, Bonn
- Photography courses for professional development
2017
Dortmund University of Applied Sciences
- Seminar on Media Dialects of Photography: Teaching skills for creating your own work, basics of image design, image analysis, image criticism, history of photography styles
- Workshops on lighting technology and the use of flash equipment
2015
Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, Bonn, Master's degree in Painting
- Seminars and workshops on photographic techniques, including photography, camera technology, image editing, video editing
2010
Photography workshop for young people at Museum K21, part of the Kunstsammlung NRW art collection
Selected Awards
2024
- shortlisted „Ovid Proömium“ Rencontres d’Arles 2024
- shortlisted „Florentine“ Athens Photo Festival: AphF:24
2022
- Polyflowers. Inclusion in the collection catalogue Flora Photographica: Masterworks of Contemporary Flower Photography, published by Thames & Hudson
2021
Collection purchase ‘Petrol Stations’ from the German-speaking Community of Belgium
2012
- PIC Förderpreis, Munich
2011
- Best Portfolio Award, Deichtorhallen Hamburg
2010
- INTER-COOL 3.0 Youth Image Media on current youth culture research
2009
- Epson Art Photo Award
2007/08
- Epson Art Photo Award
Gallery and Agency Representation
since 2009
- Plainpicture
2009-15
- so what gallery, Düsseldorf
since 2014
- Galerie vorn und oben, Eupen, Belgien
Collections
- Pro Aviation Consult GmbH private Collection
- Art Connection m&n private Collection
- Ministry of the German-speaking Community of Belgium
Selected Exhibitions
2025
- ART MATTERS 14, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online)
2024
- Rencontres des Arles book presentation „Ἑρμαφρόδιτος“
2023
- Rotterdam Photo Festival. group show. Anamesa
2021
- WAS UNS ANGEHT New acquisitions for the East Belgium Collection, IKOB Museum Eupen
- Pocket Star Gallery Athens. Group exhibition. ‘The Origin of Blossom’
- Photoszene Cologne. Group exhibition. Polyflowers
- Rotterdam Photo Festival. Group exhibition. Polyflowers
2020
- Combustible-Canarios at Artconnection, Aachen
2019
Collection presentation of the German-speaking Community of Belgium at the Stadthaus, Eupen. ‘Petrol Stations’
2018
- Galerie vorn und oben, Belgium ‘Petrol Stations’ in dialogue with Maik Wolfram
2017
- Galerie vorn und oben, Belgium, ‘Petrol Stations’
2016
- Erfahrungsraum Autobahn, Aachen, ‘Petrol Stations’
2015
- Galerie vorn und oben, Belgium, Next2 ‘Petrol Stations’
2012
- Classic Remise, Düsseldorf ‘Petrol Stations’
- Schloss Krickenbeck, Nettetal ‘Colored Houses’
2011
- Portfolio Walk, Hamburg ‘Best Portfolio Award’
- So what Gallery, Düsseldorf ‘Petrol Stations’
- Nina sagt, Düsseldorf, solo exhibition ‘Afterglow’
2010
- Frankfurt Book Fair, Frankfurt ‘Portfolio Walk’
2009
- Art Cologne, Cologne, ‘Petrol Stations’
- Galerie Scala, Berlin, ‘GEIST’ - ‘Petrol Stations’
__________
__________
25 August: Finalist 8 of 9
RAFAEL TRIANA
Vacuum Play, 2025
children's plastic toys, vacuum sealed in industrial nylon bags using a sealing machine
variable dimensions
Day 8 of our 14th ART MATTERS Online Group Exhibition on the theme of ‘Still Life’: Today we present Paris-based artist RAFAEL TRIANA (*1988 in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba) as the eighth of our nine finalists. In his sculptural installation, the fruits familiar from classical still lives are replaced by plastic food items, and their encapsulation functions as a formal and conceptual gesture that encourages critical reflection on the commercialisation of human existence. Read more about Rafael Triana and his work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 26 August, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 27 August at 6pm, we will announce the winner of our online competition: She or he will be invited to participate in the physical group exhibition ‘Still Life’ in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early September 2026.
STATEMENT
I AM ALL THOSE THINGS I DIDN’T NEED
by Zoa Tamara, Theatre Critic, Cuba, 2025
Rafael’s practice does not conform to an object-based or formalist logic. He does not produce works: he enunciates positions. His work displaces art from the territory of representation toward a politics of the gesture, where language disintegrates, repetition empties out, and meaning fractures.
Rather than showing, he interrupts. Instead of building images, he breaks grammars. What is activated in his work is a poetics of dysfunction, where matter does not sustain but rather signals the impossibility of connection, the erosion of the communal, failure as operative core.
In his practice, repetition does not reinforce – it disarms. Each return is a distortion. Memory is not archive, but residue. Subjectivity is not identity, but exposure to instability. In that field of tension, the work operates as a short circuit in the perceptual regime: a place where art does not aim to represent, but to disobey.
For Rafael, art is not an object. It is a critical, ethical, and political position. A way of inhabiting the fissure, of insisting on the margin, of turning failure into language.
CV
Rafael Triana
Rafael Triana (Ciego de Ávila, Cuba, 1988) is a Paris-based visual and multidisciplinary artist. His practice operates at the margins of representation, exploring gesture, failure, and dysfunction as critical strategies. Working across performance, installation, video, object, sculpture, and digital drawing, his work disrupts conventional logics of language and perception. A Gold Diploma graduate in Scenography from the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in Havana, his projects have been presented in theatrical, museum, and alternative spaces across Latin America and Europe.
www.rafael-triana.com
@rafaeltrianapez
Group Exhibitions
2024-25
- ART MATTERS 14, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online) – Vacuum Play
- 13th Edition of BADA – International Contemporary Art Fair, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Regalo
- Galería La Sindicalista Estudio, Cáceres, Spain – Sinfonía de la lluvia
- LATINISMO Art & Education, New York, USA – TEST
- Crocker Art Museum, California, USA – Chromatic Transvaluation
- 54th Pollença Biennial Art Contest (Finalist), Palma de Mallorca, Spain – How to Fold a Flag?
- DATARTE Prize (Finalist), Madrid, Spain – Smell of War
- Galería Sur – Latin American Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain – Haute Couture
- Arte Laguna Prize (Finalist), Arsenale of Venice, Italy – Hunger for Gold
- Art Talent Fair Prize, MOHO Gallery, Arte Padova, Italy – Perfume
- PHNMN Fréquences Festival, Paris, France – Haute Couture
- VAO UK International Emerging Artist Awards (Finalist), London, UK – Strike
- Rencontres Archipel, Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles / Paris, France – Hunger for Gold and Deep Sleep
- ART BATTALION Vol. VIII, Madrid, Spain – Aspirations
- YICCA Art Prize (Finalist), Milan, Italy – Strike
- ARTBOX.PROJECT, Switzerland – The Weight of Emptiness
- Chianciano Biennale, Museum of Terme Art, Italy – Strike
2022-23
- COMBAT Prize (Finalist), Livorno, Italy – Overload
- Artist Film Screening, MACBA Museum, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Overload
- Faenza Festival, Madrid, Spain – Sandbank
- PerFoArtNet International Performance Biennial, Bogotá, Colombia – Sisyphus
- 5th NEMO Festival (Tatami), Priego de Córdoba, Spain – Atlas
- 60Seconds Festival & One-Off Moving Image Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark – Home
2021-22
- Published in Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art Journal, Barcelona, Spain – Paralelo
- Published in Chroma Agency Digital Journal, Germany – Paralelo
- CLASH, THE HOLY ART Gallery, London, UK – Paralelo
- Group Exhibition, La Salita, Barcelona, Spain – Paralelo
2018
- ELECTROCHOC, 31st Les Instants Vidéo Festival, Marseille, France – Overload
- Annecy International Animation Film Festival, France – Evolución
- Madrid Gráfica Festival, Spain – City Person
- Kontemporánea Festival, Basque Country, Spain – The Artist’s Insomnia
- AUTRES PAYSAGES Festival, La Tostadora, Colombia – Sandbank
- 3rd International Video and Animation Art Biennial VEA, Puebla, Mexico – Evolución
2017
- Cold Bench, London, UK – Sandbank
- MADATAC Festival, Spain – Overload
- VIDEO BABEL Festival, Peru – Evolución
- INTERMEDIACIONES Festival, Bogotá, Colombia – Exchange
- WOTISART Review, London, UK – Card Game
- CARTÓN Festival, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Overload
- 3rd CMUCH Biennial, Mexico – Overload
- International Human Rights Film Festival, Bogotá, Colombia – Tea Time
- Pirineos Sur Festival, Spain – Sisyphus
2016
- VIDEO BABEL Festival, Cusco, Peru – Post-fake Dictatorship
- CUVO Festival, Madrid, Spain – Ideological Construction
- SUR-KO Festival, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil – Middle Class
- Video Bardo Festival, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Dogfight
- International Video Mapping Festival, Girona, Spain – Collective Memory
- BANG International Video Art Festival, Barcelona, Spain – Propagation
- Without Cardinal Points, Fidencia Art Space, Mexico – Rage
- Today is Any Day, in the Middle of 2030, Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, Spain – Rechargeable
- SIART International Biennial, La Paz, Bolivia – BIP – 20 Mud Spits
- BANG H2O / Contrast Gallery, Barcelona, Spain – Propagation
- BACOS International Biennial, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain – Jeff Koons’ Burden (ATEO Collective)
2015
- FIVA – International Video Art Festival, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Horizons Bleus
- 6th International Video Art Festival, Camagüey, Cuba – Horizons Bleus
- 5th International Video Art Festival, Camagüey, Cuba – GTM Time Zone
- Young Art Gallery, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba – Fábulas
- Factoría Gallery, Havana, Cuba – Lantern
Solo Exhibitions
2022
- Espace 16PROD, Paris, France – I Am All Those Things I Didn’t Need
2019
- EAC – Museum of Contemporary Art, Uruguay – The Truth? It’s All a Lie
2018
- Stripart Gallery, Guinardó Civic Center, Barcelona, Spain – Control Z
2015
- THE VOLTA Gallery, Girona, Spain – Cubaland
2014
- Zalle Zero Gallery, Alliance Française, Havana, Cuba – Help
Collections
- Museum of Terme Art, Italy – Strike
- Bòlit Contemporary Art Museum, Girona, Spain – Collective Memory
- Video Art Collection, El Almacén de las Artes, City Council of Astillero, Spain – Overload
Awards and Distinctions
2018
- Honorable Mention, 3rd International Biennial of Video and Animation Art, Puebla, Mexico – Evolución
2017
- First Prize, Video Art Competition, City Council of Astillero – El Almacén de las Artes, Spain – Overload
- First Mention, FIVAC Festival, Camagüey, Cuba – Overload
- Special Mention, International Film Festival of the Five Continents, Caracas, Venezuela – Overload
2014
- First Mention, Revolución y Cultura Award, 14th Art Fair, Cuba – Missed Call
- First Prize, Design Center of Visual Arts, Luz y Oficio Gallery, Havana, Cuba – Missed Call
Residencies and Projects
2025
- Cité Internationale des Arts, Montmartre, Paris, France – Project: Overdose
2024
- Lo Pati – Centre d’Art, in collaboration with Bòlit Contemporary Art Museum, Girona, Spain – Project: Perfume
- „Cuidar y Cuidarnos" Residency, Ha.aH LABORATORY, MANIFESTA 15 Biennial, Barcelona, Spain – Project: Urban Trace
2018
- Audiovisual Residency MADATAC, Casa de Velázquez, Madrid, Spain – Project: The Death of the Artist
2015
- Bòlit Contemporary Art Center, Girona, Spain – as part of FIMG – International Video Mapping Festival – Project: No Setup, Pero Yo
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24 August: Finalist 7 of 9
FRIEDHELM FALKE
Kontext Weinbeeren/Kadmiumrot, 2025
acrylic on nettle and tempera, resin oil paint on wood
55 x 45 cm and 13 x 18 cm
Day 7 of our 14th ART MATTERS online group exhibition on the theme of ‘Still Life’: German artist FRIEDHELM FALKE (*1958, lives and works in Cologne) is the seventh of nine finalists. His diptych juxtaposes an old master-style fruit still life with an abstract painting, creating a context in terms of form and colour. Read more about Friedhelm Falke and his work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 26 August, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 27 August at 6pm, we will announce the winner of our online competition: She or he will be invited to participate in the physical group exhibition ‘Still Life’ in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early September 2026.
STATEMENT
In the broad field of painting, I see my work at the intersection of light, space and colour.
The series of context paintings brings together two very different genres of painting. Both paintings are related in terms of form and colour.
On the one hand, there are small still lifes painted on wood using old master techniques, and on the other, there are non-representational paintings. The small still lifes focus and concentrate the viewer's gaze. The detail comes to the fore, and the pictorial space is clearly separated from the wall. The non-representational painting opens up the pictorial space with its cropped forms. It allows the gaze to wander and extends the painting into the room.
In the ensemble, the gaze now wanders between the two paintings. In this new context, both works are seen in a more differentiated and different way.
CV
Friedhelm Falke
*1958 in Verden/Aller, DE
lives and works in Köln, DE
www.friedhelmfalke.de
@friedhelmfalke
Education and Prizes/Scholarships
- Studied at the Braunschweig University of Art
1986
- Prize of the Kunstverein Hannover
1990
- Barkenhoff Scholarship, Worpswede
1991
- German Artists' Association Prize
1992
- Scholarship Villa Massimo Rom
1995
- Scholarship Künstlerstätte Schloß Bleckede
1997
- Scholarship Land Niedersachsen
- Scholarship Künstlerhaus Schloß Balmoral, Bad Ems
1999
- Award from the Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken
2011
- Working Scholarship from Kunstfonds e. V. Bonn
2022
- Working Scholarship Neustart from Kunstfonds e.V. Bonn
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2025
- Grat, Labor Projektgalerie, Cologne, DE
- Detail im Hintergrund, Galerie Falkenberg, Hannover, DE
2024
- Für einen Moment, Thomas-Morus-Akademie, Bensberg, DE
2023
- Galerie Klüber, Weinheim (with René Dantes), DE
- Galerie Uli Lang, Biberach, DE
- Galerie im Tulla, Mannheim, DE
- Früchte, Klebeband und andere Dinge, Matjö-Raum für Kunst, Cologne
2022
- Verborgenes Licht, Kunstverein Lippstadt (with Lara Kaiser, curated by Erich Franz ), DE
- Galerie Fetzer, Sontheim a.d. Brenz (with M. Willing und N. Dimitrov), DE
- Himmel und Ääd, Kunstsammlung Viebrockhaus, Harsefeld (with Annette Wesseling), DE
2021
- Kontext, Kunstraum Walshausen, Bad Salzdetfurth, DE
2020
- Kontext , Galerie Ulrich Mueller, Cologne (cat.)
- Im Garten der Malerei, Galerie Falkenberg, Hannover
2019
- Mimikry 2, Raum für Gäste, Aachen, DE
2018
- Mimikry, Kunstraum Walshausen, Hannover
2017
- Echoes, Galerie Carla Reul, Bonn, DE
- Grünes Rauschen, Galerie Falkenberg, Hannover
2016
- Hachmeister Galerie, Münster (cat.), DE
2015
- Wunsch , Galerie Graf & Schelble, Basel (with Michael Jäger), CH
- Galerie Falkenberg, Hannover (with Michael Jäger)
- Christ König Kirche, Neuss, DE
- Kunsthalle Cloppenburg, Cloppenburg (with Matthias Dämpfle), DE
- Dr. Carl Dörken Stiftung, Herdecke, DE
2014
- Kunsthaus Klüber, Weinheim (with Götz Sambale), DE
- Pleasure Kunstverein Kölnberg (with Ivo Ringe, Götz Sambale, Thomas Dietz), DE
2013
- Circle Game, Roßstr. 14, Cologne
2012
- Sooderso, NONLINEAR - LABS, Berlin, DE
- Wahlverwandtschaften, mit Gregory Sheehan, Kunsthaus Göttingen, DE
- Galerie vom Glück und Zufall, Hannover (cat.)
2010
- Kunstkontor, Galerie Ulf Larsson, Cologne
- Galerie Wittenbrink, Munich, DE
2008
- Galerie Wittenbrink, München
- Das gewohnte Bild, Villa Faupel, Bonn
2007
- In anderen Räumen, Galerie Schneider, Bonn
- Das gewohnte Bild, kunstundwohnen, Bonn (cat.)
2006
- Konkretes Gelb, Galerie Borkowski, Hannover
- Kantine, DeutschlandRadio Funkhaus Cologne (cat.)
- Raumbild - Wandbild - Bildraum, Kunstraum 28/30, Cologne
2004
- Still, Kunstmuseum Heidenheim, Heidenheim (cat.), DE
- Still, Verein für aktuelle Kunst/ Ruhrgebiet e. V., Oberhausen (cat.), DE
- Weiße und grüne Schatten, Kunstverein Wunstorf, DE
- Box und weiße Schatten, Galerie Schneider, Bonn
2003
- Die Ausdehnung von Raum und Farbe um 15:30 Uhr, Kunstverein Gifhorn, DE
- Licht aus einem anderen Raum, Galerie Borkowski, Hannover
- Zimmer am Hafen, Paul Galerie, Bremerhaven, DE
- Nappes & Twins, Gothaer Kunstforum (with Petra Weifenbach, cat.), DE
- Nachtbilder und Tageszeiten, Hachmeister Galerie, Münster
- Resonanz, Galerie Schneider, Bonn
2001
- Blick in einen nächtlichen Garten, Galerie Renate Schröder, Cologne
- Nachtbilder und Tageszeiten, Niederrheinischer Kunstverein, Wesel, DE (cat.)
2000
- DUB, Galerie Borkowski, Hannover (witht Andrea Ostermeyer)
- CANTUS, Hachmeister Galerie, Münster
- Gelb um 19.02 Uhr, Allgemeiner Konsumverein, Braunschweig
1999
- Ein anderer Grund, Künstlerhaus Göttingen (cat. Kunstsequenzen, Positionen aus Hannover)
- Galerie Renate Schröder, Cologne
1998
- Horizont, Forum Vebikus, Schaffhausen, CH
- Zwei Horizonte, Galerie Paul, Bremerhaven
1996
- Kunstverein Springhornhof, Neuenkirchen, DE (cat.)
- Galerie Fahnemann, Berlin
1995
- Exakte Wissenschaften, Kunstverein Bremerhaven (cat.)
1994
- Hachmeister Galerie, Münster
1993
- Kunstverein Wolfenbüttel, DE
- Städtische Galerie Awangarda, Wroclaw, Polen (with Norbert Schwontkowski, cat.)
1992
- Galerie Gruppe Grün, Bremen Villa Massimo, Rome, IT (cat.)
1990
- Hachmeister Galerie, Münster Kunstverein Braunschweig (cat.)
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025
- ART MATTERS 14, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online)
- Die Große, Kunstpalast Düsseldorf
- Klein aber fein, Galerie Fetzer, Sontheim an der Brenz
- Galerie Falkenberg
2024
- Kunsthalle Niendorf/Hamburg, Every one but Caspar
2023
- Smart City, Kunstsammlung Viebrockhaus, Harsefeld, DE
2022
- Malerei, Hachmeister Galerie, Münster
- Different Echoes, Museum Kolvenburg, Billerbeck
- &, 4. Evangelischer Kunstpreis, Kloster Mariaberg, DE
- Forum S15, Hannover
- what you did you do last summer?, Galerie Floss & Schultz, Cologne
- Au rendez-vous des amis (Rainer Gross und Freunde)
- Multiples 2022, Raum für Gäste, Aachen
- Blickfelder, Übersichtsausstellung des Westdeutschen Künstlerbundes, Schloß Moyland, DE
2021
- Multiples, Raum für Gäste, Aachen (cat.)
- Editionen, Galerie Ulrich Mueller, Cologne
- Exit, Hachmeister Galerie, Münster
- 20 Jahre Galerie Falkenberg, Hannover (cat.)
- Farbe ist lebendig, Dr. Carl Dörken Galerie, Witten/Herdecke, DE (cat.)
2020
- Miniaturen, Kunsthaus Klüber, Weinheim
- Grosse Formate, Hachmeister Galerie, Münster
2019
- Malerei abstrakt, Hachmeister Galerie, Münster
- Ein Fest für die Augen, Kunstmuseum Pablo Picasso, Münster
- Different Echoes, LA Museum, Hveragerdi, IS
- Großes!, Kunstmuseum Heidenheim, Heidenheim
- Sichtweiten, Osthaus Museum Hagen, DE
- Different Echoes, Prsten Gallery, Zagreb, HR
- Different Echoes, Galerie Ulf Larsson, Cologne
- Different Echoes, Kunsthaus Sootbörn, Hamburg
2018
- Die Grosse, Museum Kunstpalast Ehrenhof, Düsseldorf, DE
- freshtest 4.0, Kunstverein Kölnberg, Cologne
- Werk.Stoff, Kunstverein Heidelberg, Heidelberg, DE
- Hazy and Pure, Raum für Gäste, Aachen
- Zur Größe bestimmt!, Künstlerhaus Dortmund
- Acchrochage, Galerie Falkenberg, Hannover
2017
- Different Echoes, Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen, Museum St. Wendel
- freshtest 3.0, Kunstverein - Kölnberg - Galerie Ulf Larsson, DE
- Galerie Fetzer, Sontheim an der Brenz
- Paperfile, Galerie oqbo, Berlin
2016
- Gängige Praxis, Hohenzollernstr. 47, Hannover
- Black & White, Galerie Ulf Larsson, Cologne
- freshtest 2.0, Kunstverein - Kölnberg, Cologne
- Malerei auf Papier, Dr. Carl Dörken Stiftung, Herdecke, DE
- Different Echoes, Städt. Galerie Meno Forma, Kaunas, LT
2015
- RE:SET – abstract painting in a digital world, Clemens Sels Museum Neuss, DE
- freshtest, Kunstverein - Kölnberg, Cologne
- Kunstkästen, Kunsthalle Vebikus, Schaffhausen, CH
2014
- RE:SET – abstract painting in a digital world, Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, DE (cat.)
- RE:SET – abstract painting in a digital world, Kunstmuseum Heidenheim - Freiraumgalerie, Cologne
- Köln um halb acht, Temporary Gallery, Cologne
2013
- Wirwiederhier, kunstmuseum Bochum, Westdeutscher Künstlerbund, DE
- RE:SET – abstract painting in a digital world, Kunstmuseum Celle, DE
- Circle Game, Roßstr. 14, Cologne
2012
- Reset- abstract painting in a digital world, arti & amicitiae, Amsterdam, NL
- mes amis, mes amis - Sammlung Michael Jäger, Atelier Dorrit Niebe, Cologne
- Privatbesitz: Kunstsammlungen Bremer Künstler/innen, Städtische Galerie Bremen
- Gallery Artists, Galerie Judith Andreae, Bonn
2011
- kunstgaleriebonn, Bonn
- Vor allem Farbe, Hachmeister Galerie, Münster
2010
- Landpartie, Museum Abtei Liesborn, DE (cat.)
- 15 Jahre, Galerie Michael Schneider, Bonn
- crossover, Hachmeister Galerie, Münster
- isch 5ä20i, Vebikus, Schaffhausen, CH
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23 August: Finalist 6 of 9
DIEGO AZZOLA
Esperimento 2. Salta quasi come se fosse viva, 2024
oil on canvas
50 x 60 x 3,5 cm
Day 6 of our 14th ART MATTERS Online Group Exhibition on the theme of ‘Still Life’: Today we present Italian artist DIEGO AZZOLA (*2000) as the sixth of our nine finalists. In his painting, a contemporary interpretation of the classical animal still life, the artist depicts an inanimate subject matter, blurring the boundary between nature and artificiality and searching for new liminal creatures thus shifting identities that inhabit the ambiguous frontier between life and its definition, between the living being and the very notion of the individual. Read more about Diego Azzola and his work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 26 August, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 27 August at 6pm, we will announce the winner of our online competition: She or he will be invited to participate in the physical group exhibition ‘Still Life’ in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early September 2026.
STATEMENT
The primordial vital amalgam, a generative and destructive force, capable of assembling and disassembling, forms the indispensable foundation of my artistic inquiry. At the core of my practice lies the urgency to conceive new forms of existence, to bring hybrid entities into being through the fusion of heterogeneous and often seemingly opposing elements, with a constant focus on detail, the found object, and the everyday. My gaze is particularly drawn to the aquatic and marine realms, to the dynamics of transformation and objectification that affect the body, especially when it becomes fragment, relic, or inanimate matter.
Through painting, installation, and sculpture, I venture into that fluid threshold where the natural and the artificial blur and converge, seeking new liminal creatures and shifting identities that inhabit the ambiguous frontier between life and its definition, between the living being and the very notion of the individual.
CV
Diego Azzola
*2000
lives and works in Albino, Bergamo, IT
Education
2025
- G. Carrara Academy of Fine Arts | Bergamo, IT - Master's Degree: Painting and Visual Arts
2023
- Bachelor’s Degree - Painting
2019
- Giacomo e Pio Manzù Art School, Bergamo, IT - Diploma: Figurative Arts
Selected Exhibitions
2025
- ART MATTRES 14, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, DE (online)
- Via Farini, Open Studio, Via Farini 35, Milan, IT
- REA Fair, Studi Opos, Milan, IT
- L’intimo segreto del mondo là fuori, una ricognizione sulla pittura italiana, Ex Cartiera Pigna, Alzano Lombardo, IT
- Brulicare, Crocicchio Art Space, Bergamo, IT
2024
- I’m Blue, all’interno di Paratissima/Nice e Fair, Torino, IT
- Piatto di cipolle, Gamec, Galleria di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Bergamo, IT
- Second Life, Tutto torna, Terza Edizione, Limonaia di Villa Vittoria, Palazzo dei Congressi, Florence, IT
- Tono Festival del Politecnico delle Arti di Bergamo (2024), spazio Daste, Bergamo, IT
- Second Life, Tutto torna, Terza Edizione, Centro per l’arte contemporanea ‘Luigi Pecci’, Prato, IT
- Second Life, Tutto torna, Terza Edizione, Cortile di Michelozzo, Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, Florence, IT
2023
- Premio Nazionale delle arti XVII edizione, Carrara, Tuscany, IT
- Clorofilla 14, presso l’ Accademia di belle Arti G. Carrara di Bergamo, Vincita Clorofilla Art Prize, Premio II Cavaliere Giallo, IT
- Inaugurazione Politecnico delle Arti, presso Teatro Gaetano Donizetti, Bergamo, IT
- Antonio Cifrondi, ‘pittor fantastico’, MAT di Clusone, IT
- Letto ad arte, presso spazio Giacomo a Bergamo, IT
Residencies
2025
-Via Farini in Residence, May-August, IT
2024
- Sentieri Creativi, 30/09 – 4/10, Centro Parco Ca’ Matta, Ponteranica, Bergamo, IT
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22 August: Finalist 5 of 9
RAHA RASTIFARD
Yâr I (Friend) [from the series ‘Lost Memory’], 2025
stoneware, glaze
30 x 40 x 4 cm
courtesy of Berg Gallery, Stockholm
Day 5 of our 14th ART MATTERS online group exhibition on the theme of ‘Still Life’: Iranian-German artist RAHA RASTIFARD (*1974, lives and works in Stockholm, SE) is the fifth of nine finalists. Her wall sculpture functions as a conceptual still life: an arrangement of abstract ornamental and geometric structures, forms and references to Persian architecture and culture. These are not only aesthetic elements, but also carriers of memories – reinterpreted, reimagined and sometimes lost over time. Read more about Raha Rastifard and her work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 26 August, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 27 August at 6pm, we will announce the winner of our online competition: She or he will be invited to participate in the physical group exhibition ‘Still Life’ in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early September 2026.
STATEMENT
Raha Rastifard is a conceptual artist who frequently explores themes of identity and cultural heritage. Her work often incorporates references to literature, philosophy, and art history. This new body of work reflects her ongoing exploration of cultural heritage, drawing from personal experience while addressing broader questions of cultural continuity, displacement, and loss. At the core of Rastifard’s practice is an interest in how cultural heritage shapes our understanding of ourselves, others, and the world around us.
Her latest works draw inspiration from the architectural and ornamental traditions of Persian culture. Geometric structures, abstracted forms, and references to monumental architecture function not only as aesthetic elements, but as carriers of memory— reimagined, reinterpreted, and sometimes lost through time.
Like memory itself, Rastifard's works are fragmentary, layered and pieced together from various sources—both real and imagined. At first glance, they may bring to mind archaeological artefacts, museum objects, or miniature landmarks. Yet the sculptures are neither historical remnants nor replicas. By navigating this visual terrain, Rastifard opens up questions about authenticity and value, while also pointing towards the forces that shape and reshape cultural memory.
Rastifard holds a BFA from the National University of Art in Tehran as well as an MA in European and Islamic Art from Freie Universität in Berlin. She has also attended a couple of post-master courses at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm (2015 – 2018). Recent solo and group exhibition venues include Ebelingmuseet, Eskilstuna (2023), Borås Bright Art, Borås Konstmuseum (2023), Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm (2022), Berg Gallery, Stockholm (2021), and Östergötlands museum, Linköping (2019). Additionally, her work has been shown in a large number of exhibitions throughout Europe, Asia and North America, including venues such as the Pergamon Museum, Berlin, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin, Museo Ex-Teresa Arte Actual, Mexico City, Malmö Konsthall, and Tokyo Gallery + BTAP, Tokyo.
Rastifard was awarded the 2021 IASPIS residency scholarship and received the Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s two-year working grant the following year. Her works are represented in the collections of Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Borås Konstmuseum, Östergötlands Museum, Stockholm Konst, and Region Stockholm (Stockholm County Council), to name a few.
CV
Raha Rastifard
*1974
lives and works in Stockholm, SE
www.raharastifard.com
@raharastifard
Education
2017-18
- The advanced course Architecture, at the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm, SE
2015-16
- Postmaster course in Fine Arts for professional artists at the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm, SE
2014
- Professional training in museum management
2011
- Master's degree in history of European Art and Islamic Art, Master's degree in Iranian Culture and Literature at the Free University FU, Berlin, DE
2000
- Bachelor of Fine Arts at the national University of art, Tehran, IR
Awards and Grants
2022
- Konstnärsnämnden / Swedish Arts Grants Committee, two-year working grant
2021
- Residency vid IASPIS. Det internationella programmet inom Swedish Art Grants-kommittén.
2018
- Konstnärsnämnden / Swedish Arts Grants Committee, one-year working grant
2014-15
- Internationell Kulturutbyte grant, Konstnärsnämden, SE
2013
- Selected “If it isn’t too dark” for the International Museum of Women, MIOW, USA
2009
- Finalist for “Freedom to Create Prize”, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
Commissions
2022
- "The Third Line", Light sculpture, Borås Art Museum
2021
- “Hamnars hjärta”, 400th anniversary Norrtälje
- "Himmels Passagen" tunnel under Tycho Hedéns väg, Uppsala kommun
2020
- "The Fifth Element", Light sculpture, Östergötlands museum, Linköping
2019
- “The Hanging Lotus Garden” Danderyds sjukhus Stockholm, SE
2017
- “Tribute to Movement”, Norsborg Metro Station, Stockholm, SE
- “The Aurora” Norrbyskolan, Örebro, SE
Solo Exhibitions
2025
- Berg Gallery ”Lost Memory”, Stockholm
2023
- Ebelingmuseet, “Rest in Natural Great Peace”, Eskilstuna,
2022
- Konstpaus #12, “ Suffering” Stockholm Konst, Stockholm
2021
- Berg Gallery, "Rest in natural great peace", Stockholm
2021
- Grafiska sällskapet, Stockholm
2020
- Konstfrämjandet Bergslagen, Örebro, SE
2015-16
- AREA 52 Gallery, a Story written with Water, Stockholm, SE (2 persons in separate Rooms)
2015
- “The Book of Longing” Mixed Media, Photography, WHITECONCEPTS Gallery, Berlin, DE
2011
- “I & …” Photo series, Azad Art Gallery, Tehran, IR
2008
- “Tuba”, Mixed media exhibition, Futura Gallery, Berlin, DE
2007
- “Tuba”, Mixed media exhibition, Pergamon Museum, Berlin, DE
200
- Traces of Existence, Painting, Schillerpalais Gallery, Berlin, DE
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025
- "ART MATTERS 14", Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, DE (online)
2024
- “Kontur”, Danske Grafikeres gallery, Copenhagen, DK
2023
- ”Ghost in the Machine” - curated by Erik Berglin, Berg Gallery, Stockholm
2022
- “Borås Bright Art “- International light art in the urban space and at Borås Art Museum, Borås
- Enter Art Fair w. Berg Gallery, Tunnelfabrikken, Copenhagen, DK
2021
- ”Pyramid of Democracy” Levande Stockholm, Stockholm konst summer exhibition
2020
- Liljevalchs vårsalong, Stockholm, SE
2018-19
-"Femte Elementet", Östergötlands museum, Linköping, SE
2017
- GRAFIK 2017, Oskarshamns konsthall, SE
- Lady Dada Kalam's WHITE CUBE, Berlin, DE
2016
- Avesta Art, Avesta, SE
- Music Art, Stockholm, SE
- Kunstquartier Bethanien Berlin, DE
- Nordens Ljus Gallery, kungsholmsstrand, Stockholm
2015
- The Pergamon Palais, Berlin
- ARTmART, Vienna, AT
- REEL & IMAGINED, Maison de la Culture de Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal, CA
- House of Taswir, a Story written with Water, curated by Shulamit Çoruh, Berlin
- “Suffering”, Sundsvalls Konstförening, Sundsvalls, SE
- Video art by 19 Iranian women, curated by Alysse Stepanian, Pori Art Museum, FI
2014
- Video art by 19 Iranian women, curated by Alysse Stepanian, Malmö Konsthall, SE
2013
- Stockholm Photography Week, Fotografiska Museum, Stockholm, SE
- A paradigm shift, curated by Uta Koch-Götze, Kunsthalle Brennabor, DE
- Selected "If it isn't too dark" Photo series for the International Museum of Women, MIOW, US
- Video art by 19 Iranian women, Museo Ex-Teresa Arte Actual, Mexico City, MX
- Video art by 19 Iranian women, Digital Art Festival Fondland , Coimbra, PT
2012
- The Last Tango in Tehran, Sharzad Gallery, New York, USA
- The universe is built on a plan, curated by Nicole Loeser, Savvy Contemporary, Berlin, DE
- “I & …” Photo series, Exhibit 320 Gallery, Delhi, IN
2011
- The Third Eye, curated by Raul Zamudio, Other Gallery, Shanghai, CN
- The End of the Dream, curated by Nicole Loeser, MicaMoca Project, Berlin
2010
- The Stalking of Absence, curated by Shaheen Merali, Tokyo Gallery + BTAP Gallery, Tokyo, JP
- Tuba, mixed media exhibition, Ana Tzarev Gallery, New York, USA
- Twice is too much, curated by Shaheen Merali, Free Museum, Berlin,
- BERUF Künstlerin, curated by Uta Koch, Bonn, Women's Museum Bonn, DE
- The hair, curated by Uta Koch, Futura Gallery, Berlin
2009
- Tuba, mixed media exhibition, Freedom to Create Prize, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
- 1001 Night, mixed media exhibition, WhiteBox Gallery, Munich, DE
- Culture of Torture, Torture in Culture, video art “Suffering”, Artneuland Gallery, Berlin
Collections and Museum Representations
- Pergamon Museum, Berlin, DE
- German Bundestag, Berlin, DE
- Freie Universität, Berlin, DE
- Boras Konstmuseum, Boras, SE
- Östergötlands Museum, Linköping, SE
- Sveriges Allmänna Konstförening (SAK), SE
- Stockholm Konst, SE SL, Stockholm, SE
- Stockholms Läns Landsting (SLL) / Stockholm County Council, SE
- Region Norrbotten / Norrbotten County Council, SE
- Nortälje kommun / Norrtälje Municipality, SE
- Uppsala kommun / Uppsala Municipality, SE
- various private collections
Projekt Organisation
2014
- The Persian poetry text, in the catalogue Malihe Afnan, Gallery Kornfeld, Berlin
2005-10
- Museum-expert in Museum for Islamic art Berlin, DE
2005
- Assistance and production of the film “A Film about Belief”, Berlin
2000
- Founder and Curator of the artists group “Artists without Borders” Tehran, IR
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21 August: Finalist 4 of 9
REINHARD HÖLKER
Staubsaugerbaum, 2002
photography, hand-printed in colour from 6x7 negative
24 x 24 cm (print)
Day 4 of our 14th ART MATTERS Online Group Exhibition on the theme of ‘Still Life’: Today we present German artist REINHARD HÖLKER (*1967) as the fourth of our nine finalists. His photographic work is a modern, whimsical still life arrangement: a vacuum cleaner replaces the fruit, flowers or other lifeless/motionless objects of Baroque still lives and allows for numerous symbolic references to transience, life and death, closeness and distance. Read more about Reinhard Hölker and his work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 26 August, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 27 August at 6pm, we will announce the winner of our online competition: She or he will be invited to participate in the physical group exhibition ‘Still Life’ in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early September 2026.
STATEMENT
‘The Vacuum Cleaner Tree’ – a modern still life
Instead of fruit, glasses or clocks, as found in Baroque still lives, Reinhard Hölker's work presents the viewer with a bizarre arrangement featuring a leafless tree containing a vacuum cleaner. A staging that allows for numerous symbolic references to transience, life and death, closeness and distance.
In his vacuum cleaner tree, Hölker questions our relationship with nature, without backward-looking romanticism, but also without fantasies of power and determinability.
Although nature today is always the reserve declared to be nature, already cultivated, combed through, rationalised or transfigured by utopian projections, the blurring of the boundaries between natural space and art space is astonishing.
A moment of surprise, initiated by the hybrid mixed character – half nature, half art world – frees us from learned routines and civilisational influences.
CV
Reinhard Hölker
*1967
lives and works in Marburg, DE
www.reinhard-hoelker.de
@reinhardhoelker
Education
1991-98
- Münster Academy of Fine Arts
1995
- Master student under Prof. Reiner Ruthenbeck
1998
- MA Fine Arts
Awards / Scholarships
1998
- Scholarship Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris
1999
- Graduate scholarship from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
2000
- Art Prize for Ecology, AEG Nuremberg
2002
- Barkenhoff Scholarship from the State of Lower Saxony
- Project funding, Berlin Cultural Office
2008
- International Award, Movies & Stills, Frankfurt am Main
2015
- Marta Hoepffner-Gesellschaft für Fotografie e.V., Imagine Reality, 1st Price
Selected Exhibitions / Screenings (since 2020)
2025
- ART MATTERS 14, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, DE (online)
2024
- Alles VI, studio im Hochhaus, Berlin, DE
- Anonymous Drawings & Lines Fiction, Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, DE
- crow avatar, Nacht der Kunst, Kunstverein Marburg, DE
- NEON On Contemporary Cinema
- Tapetenwerkfest, Tapetenwerk, Leipzig, De
- 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam, NL
- Frida Film Festival
2023
- Flower Power Festival, München, DE
- Alles V, studio im Hochhaus, Berlin, DE
- Animals in Cities, Stadttheater Gießen, DE (S)
- Aurora Picture Show, Houston, TX, USA
- Fireline Film Festival
- New York Neorealism Film, USA
- Sweet Democracy Film, Cannes, FR (Award)
- 8 & Halfilm Awards, Rome, IT (Award)
- Les Instants Video
- Imaginary Mind Film
- Lachenmann Galerie, Frankfurt am Main., DE
2022
- The Black Panther International Short Film Festival (Nominee)
- L.A. Sci-Fi & Media Festival (Award Winner)
- Kunst in Marburg, Marburger Kunstverein, DE
- Paris Film Awards, Paris, FR
- Paradise Film Festial, Budapest, HU
- BLUEZ DOLPHINS Film Fest. (Winner, Best Experimental Film March Edition), Los Angeles, USA
- Sweet Democracy Film Awards, Rom, IT
- Tokyo International Film Festival (Honorable Mention), JP
- Paradise Film Festival, Budapest, HU
- Art Doc Film Festval, Boulder Creek, CA, USA
- XPRMNTL anti-festival, London, UK
2021
- Split Videoart Festival, Split
- Bideodromo, Bilbao
- Bad Film Fest NYC, USA (Honorable Mention)
- NIFF, London
- frostbite International Indie Fest, Colorado Springs, USA (Finalist)
- Kunstverein Kunstturm Mücke, Mücke, DE (S, K)
- Absurd Art House Festival, Blue Town, Kent, UK
- Hallucinea Film Festival, Paris, FR
2020
- unauslotbar, Marburger Kunstverein, DE (S/D)
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20 August: Finalist 3 of 9
CHRISTIANE BRAMS
Pomegranates, 2009
black-and-white photography, baryta print
motif 32 x 24 cm
(sheet 40 x 30 cm, with black aluminium frame 50 x 40 cm)
Day 3 of our 14th ART MATTERS online group exhibition on the theme of ‘Still Life’: German artist CHRISTIANE BRAMS (*1969, lives and works in Aachen) is our third of nine finalists. Her classic-looking photographic work, created exclusively with natural light and reduced to black and white, is inspired by the chiaroscuro of Baroque still life motifs. Read more about Christiane Brams and her work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 26 August, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 27 August at 6pm, we will announce the winner of our online competition: She or he will be invited to participate in the physical group exhibition ‘Still Life’ in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early September 2026.
STATEMENT
The submitted work ‘Pomegranates’ is part of my ‘Harvest’ series, which I completed in 2011.
I lived on Gozo, a tiny island in the Mediterranean Sea that belongs to Malta, one of the southernmost countries in Europe, for 10 years. There, I was regularly supplied with freshly harvested fruit and vegetables by a travelling greengrocer, grown right next door in the fertile fields of Gozo.
Impressed not only by the quality but also by the extraordinary beauty of the produce, I began to photograph it: using only natural light, reduced to black and white, inspired by the chiaroscuro of Baroque still life motifs.
The series comprises 15 digital photographs, which were enlarged in an analogue laboratory process as hand prints on classic baryta photo paper. This allows me to achieve a wide tonal range and clear image depth. The prints are 40 x 30 cm in size (motif size approx. 32 x 24 cm); I present them framed in 50 x 40 cm format – classically with a passe-partout in an aluminium frame with a very narrow black profile strip. Edition: 1 plus 1 AP.
CV
Christiane Brams
*1969 in Wesel, DE
lives and works in Aachen, DE
www.christianebrams.com
@christianebrams_artist
Education
1989-92
- Philosophy, Art History, Theatre Studies, Ruhr University Bochum
1992-99
- Fine Arts (Sculpture), Düsseldorf Art Academy
1998
- Master student under Prof. Irmin Kamp
1999
- Academy letter (diploma)
Residencies/Scholarships
2020 & 2022
- Project grant from the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia
2000
- Artist in Residence, Basement, Liverpool, UK
Selected Exhibitions
2025
- ART MATTERS 14, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, DE (G, online)
2024
- THE PALMTREE SHOW, Hope Projects Art Service, Vienna, AT (G)
- NOSTALGIA, Michael Horbach Stiftung, Cologne, DE (G)
2023
- THE PLACES/ALLIANZEN, Fotofestival der Städteregion Aachen, Raum für Kunst, Aachen, DE (G)
2021
- LAND/MARKS, Atelierhaus, Aachen, DE (S, with Annette Sellerbeck)
2018
- GRAFIK!, Atelierhaus, Aachen, DE (G)
2016
- BASEMENTS CONNECTED, Basement, Liverpool, UK (G)
- BASEMENTS CONNECTED, Road Studios, Liverpool, UK (G)
2010
- SQUARE, No. 68, Valletta, Malta (today: Blitz, Valletta)(G)
2001
- BETRIEBSGEHEIMNISSE, Gimlet & Partner Verlagsbüro, Cologne, DE (E)
2000
- BASEMENT VI, Basement, Liverpool, UK (G)
1998
- LUCIDE II, Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf, DE (E)
- CHRISTIANE BRAMS/KATHARINA VON CUBE, Schnitt Ausstellungsraum, Cologne, DE (E)
1997
- WER SCHÜTZT UNS VOR HANSI?, Kunstwerk, Cologne, DE (G)
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19 August: Finalist 2 of 9
HARRY VAN RENSWOU
About your story and mine, 2022
marble, metal, ceramics
22 x 17 x 7 cm
Day 2 of our 14th ART MATTERS Online Group Exhibition on the theme of ‘Still Life’: Today we present Dutch artist HARRY VAN RENSWOU (*1957, lives and works in Cologne, DE) as the second of our nine finalists. The starting point for his sculptural collage is the conceptual idea of a still life: an arrangement of several found components with material reminiscences of the Golden Age of the Netherlands in the 17th century. Read more about Harry van Renswou and his work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 26 August, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 27 August at 6pm, we will announce the winner of our online competition: She or he will be invited to participate in the physical group exhibition ‘Still Life’ in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early September 2026.
STATEMENT
“About your story and mine” is the title of this work by Harry van Renswou. The multi-component work evokes memories of times past, drawing parallels with the present day: the silver Baroque-style form hangs like a decoration on a kind of marble console, its materiality reminiscent of mantelpieces in old mansions, while the small Delft Blue wall plates are reminiscent of the Golden Age of the Netherlands in the 17th century.
The smaller works of recent years consist of self-constructed objects combined with industrially or handcrafted objects. For Harry van Renswou, the use of these found mementos means ‘having respect for the beauty of things that already exist or have already been produced.’ Removed from their former function, they now form a new cosmos of their own by evoking memories and associations. The result is collages as still lives, whose starting point is a conceptual idea.
The works are often linked to an autobiographical story: personal experiences, large and small, micro- and macrocosms of human behaviour. The formal language and his inspiration can be linked to themes such as architecture, interiors and nature.
The titles are of particular importance, opening up a further level of reflection with wordplay and thought experiments. They are like metaphors for his understanding of the world. Their supposed aesthetics, composition and mood characterise the work with playful and ironic, but also dark and cryptic ambiguities.
CV
Harry van Renswou
*1957 in Utrecht, NL
lives and works in Cologne, DE
Education
1980-85
- Königliche Akademie der Schönen Künste und Design, ’s-Hertogenbosch, NL
Selected Exhibitions
2025
- ART MATTERS 14, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, DE (online)
2005
- Dum Dum Sculpture, Galerie Carla Stützer, Cologne, DE (curator)
2002
- ZeitZeichen, Kunstverein Hürth, DE
2000
- Verkuppelt, Oberlandesgericht Cologne, DE
- Alle Neune, Galerie Carla Stützer, Cologne, DE
1995
- Galerie Voorwaar, Dordrecht, NL (S)
- Miedzynarodowe Centrum Sztuki/International Artists Center, Poznan, PL
1992
- Niet in Gebruik/Nicht in Gebrauch, Artis, 's-Hertogenbosch, NL (S)
1991
- Medileuven, Galerie Transit, Leuven, BE
1990
- Galerie 408, Amsterdam, NL (S)
- Bericht aus Holland, Galerie Carla Stützer, Cologne, DE
- Galerie d’Eendt, Amsterdam, NL (S)
Commissions
1993
- City of Amsterdam, art in public spaces, Sculpture at Borneoplatz, NL
1991
- City of Amsterdam, model design for Gaasperdam, NL
1990
- City of Amsterdam, art in public spaces, sculpture on Frederik Hendrikstraat, NL
- City of Utrecht, model design for Hamburgerterrain, NL
Scholarships
2000
- Scholarship from the Art Fund Foundation, Amsterdam, NL
1998
- Scholarship from the Art Fund Foundation, Amsterdam, NL
1997
- Project grant, Stiftung Noord-Brabant, Breda, NL
1996
- Scholarship from the Art Fund Foundation, Amsterdam, NL
1992
- Project grant, Noord-Brabant-Fonds für Bildende Kunst, Oirschot, NL
1990
- Start-up grant, Kulturministerium, Amsterdam, NL
Selected Press Articles
2020
- Tjarda van der Spek: „Gat van Rob“, in: NRC Handelsblad, 26/11/2020
2019
- „Het gerecht van Jacob met de engel“, in: Het Parool, Amsterdam, 23/08/2019
2012
- ATV „Kunststuk in Oost“, Amsterdam, October 2012
2000
- Renate Roos: „Appell an die Phantasie“, in: Kölner Stadtanzeiger
- Patrick Kessler: „Kontrastprogramm zur barocken Architektur“, in: Kölnische Rundschau
- Jürgen Kisters: „Attacke auf den grauen Alltag“, in: Kölner Stadtanzeiger
Selected Collections
- Collection Prof. Mr. P. Sanders, Schiedam, NL
- Collection CODA Museum Apeldoorn, NL
- Collection Stadt Amsterdam, NL
- Collection der Stadtsparkasse KölnBonn, DE
- various collections at home and abroad
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18 August: Finalist 1 of 9
JULIE DERBYSHIRE
Untitled 1 (from the series ‘All We Find, All We Leave Behind’), 2024
digital photograph, Giclée Print on Hahnemühle Photorag
edition of 5 plus 2 AP
60 x 60 cm (unframed)
Today we are launching our 14th ART MATTERS online group exhibition on the theme of ‘Still Life’ with a presentation of the work of London-based photographic artist JULIE DERBYSHIRE (*1964). Her image is a rather classical and hauntingly atmospheric interpretation of the still life genre, in which she arranges inanimate motifs, typically everyday objects, while referencing the symbolism of early vanitas paintings. Read more about Julie Derbyshire and her work below.
We have selected a total of 9 finalists from the applications received in response to our last Open Artist Call. Until 26 August, we will present these artists and their submitted works one after the other here on our website and on Instagram. Every day at 6pm CET we will unveil another name and present a new artwork, so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole.
On Wednesday 27 August at 6pm, we will announce the winner of our online competition: She or he will be invited to participate in the physical group exhibition ‘Still Life’ in our gallery in Cologne, which is scheduled to open in early September 2026.
STATEMENT
I am a London based photographic artist with a practice that is research based and process led. Informed by art history and by my own lived experience, I explore themes of fragility, transience and the universality of our shared human condition. I hold an MA Photography (Distinction), London College of Communication (University of the Arts London) and a BA (Hons) Photography (1st Class), University of Westminster. I exhibit regularly in the UK and abroad and my work is held in private collections. Amongst a number of recognitions, I have been a finalist in the Arte Laguna Prize Venice and the Travers Smith Art Awards and was awarded the Photofusion Prize.
This image is taken from the series ‘ All We Find, All We Leave Behind’. The project was made during a recent artist residency at Pouch Cove Foundation in remote Newfoundland, Canada. Using a makeshift still life table covered with a paper tablecloth in the live/work space that became my home during my stay, I created still life compositions using objects I found in the studio, food items and whatever foliage I could forage each day in the rough wasteland directly outside the building. The still life genre holds a fascination for me, I have always reflected on the stories that objects hold. Each day of the residency, I enjoyed making simple compositions referencing the symbolism of early vanitas paintings, a reminder to the viewer of the fragility and transience of life. Placing found objects in conversation with each other and shooting subject to the vagaries of the ever-changing natural light in this remote coastal area, I put together a series of quiet tableaux.
‘All We Find, All We Leave Behind’ focusses on the layering of history of a place, both in its original life as a school with shelves bulging with old books and more recently as a temporary home to the many artists who inhabited the space before me to make their own artistic work. The studio resonated with the traces of all those people whom I would never meet (dusty leafed through books, paint on pots, sea shells and pebbles collected by the coast nearby) and told a story of past and present. I too left behind my own objects for the next artist to find.
CV
Julie Derbyshire
*1964
lives and works in London
www.juliederbyshire.de
@juliederbyshire
Education
2016-17
- MA Photography (Distinction), London College of Communication
2011-15
- BA (Hons) Photography (1st Class), University of Westminster
Residencies
2024
- Pouch Cove Foundation Artist Residency Program: Newfoundland, Canada
2023
- Olympiada (with Pollen Collective): Greece
2022
- Pouch Cove Foundation Artist Residency Program: Newfoundland, Canada
Awards
2023
- 20th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards: Digital Manipulation and Collage, Honourable Mention
2021
- PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris: Nature, Honourable Mention
- 16th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards: Still Life, Runner-up and Two Honourable Mentions
- Tokyo International Foto Awards: Fine Art, Still Life, Honourable Mention
2020
- PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris: Fine Art, Still Life, Two Honourable Mentions
- Visual Art Open 2020: Highly Commended
2019
- 14th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards: Fine Art, Honourable Mention
- PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris: Fine Art, Still Life, Honourable Mention
- 13th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards: Still Life, Honourable Mention
2018
- Nominated for RPS 100 Heroines Award
- Tokyo International Foto Awards: Fine Art, Landscape, Honourable Mention
2017
- Photofusion Prize: Work selected, MA Photography Final Show
2016
- Tokyo International Foto Awards: Fine Art, Still Life, Two Honourable Mentions
- PX3 Prix de le Photographie Paris: Fine Art Series, Honourable Mention
- Moscow International Foto Awards: Fine Art, Still Life, Honourable Mention
- Fine Art Photography Awards: Conceptual and Fine Art categories, Nominee
- La Grande Photo International Photography Awards: Still Life, Finalist, High Distinction
- Arte Laguna Prize Venice: Photographic Art, Finalist
2015
- Travers Smith Art Awards 2015/16
2014
- PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris: Fine Art Series, Honourable Mention
Solo Exhibition
2019
- Possession: One Paved Court, London
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025
- ART MATTERS 14, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online)
- PhotoX3: Lighthouse Gallery and Studio, London
- Beyond the Frame: Online Artdoc Exhibition
2024
- Circle II, Pollen Collective: Gallery at Kindred Studios, London
- Photofusion Salon/24: Photofusion, London
- Made by Many Acts, Pollen Collective at Olympiada: 6 Charlton Place, London
- Creative Photography: Online Artdoc Exhibition
2023
- Women in Art, ECAD Gallery, Cromwell Place, London
- Inspirational Women Artists: God’s House Tower, Southampton
- Women in Photography: The Glasgow Gallery of Photography, Glasgow
- Colour: The Glasgow Gallery of Photography, Glasgow
- A Patch of Sky: One Paved Court, London
2022
- Exposure, Pollen Collective: Shepherds Bush Arch Space, London
- TASC at Hand: The Muse Gallery, London
- Selfies: Royal Photographic Society Women in Photography (Virtual Exhibition)
- Photo London: ECAD Gallery
- Relational Dreams: MP Birla Millennium Art Gallery, London
- Art of ‘1’: ECAD Gallery, London
2021
- 6th Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography: Gallery FotoNostrum, Barcelona
- Circle, Pollen Collective: Gallery at 44 Russell Street, London
- Travers Smith CSR Art Programme 2021/22: Travers Smith LLP, London
- Photofusion SALON/21: Photofusion, London
- Bloom: Midwest Center for Photography, Wichita, USA
- Here, I Made This - Dialogues of Distance, One Paved Court, Richmond
2020
- Fix Photo Awards, LA Noble Gallery, Judge’s Choice (Virtual Exhibition)
- I Was Here: An Exhibit of Women in Photography: all SHE makes (Virtual Exhibition)
- 14th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards Exhibition: Gallery FotoNostrum, Barcelona
2018
- The London Ultra, Free Painters and Sculptors: Bargehouse Gallery, London
- Photofusion SALON/18: Photofusion, London
- The Muse Residency Competition, Summer Show: The Muse Gallery, London
- Tokyo International Foto Awards, Winners Exhibition: ICA Gallery, Tokyo
- MA & Other Post Graduates 2018 Exhibition: Atkinson Gallery, Somerset
2016
- Moscow International Foto Awards, Winners Exhibition: Na Kashirke Gallery, Moscow
- Arte Laguna Prize, Finalists Exhibition: Arsenale, Venice
Collections
- private collections in the UK and Europe
Print and Online Publications
2025
- Dodho Magazine, Issue 33, June, p.44-57
2024
- Where Women Create Magazine, ‘Through the Lens’ profile, February
2023
- Art Seen Magazine, Winter Edition, November
2023 - The Localist at thehoxton.com, ‘Ask the Artist’ interview, August
2021
- Forbes, ‘Frieze Week London and Beyond: 5 Essential Exhibitions to See’, October
2020
- Lens Magazine, Issue 74, November, p. 92-99
2018
- Natural History Museum Blog
2015
- Art Attack
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ART MATTERS 13
Online Group Exhibition
Winners
Jakob Limmer and Gabriele Ludewig
As winners of ART MATTERS 13, Jakob Limmer and Gabriele Ludewig (together with BERGERNISSEN and Hyein Jang, winners of our ART MATTERS 12 competition in December 2024) will participate in our first physical ART MATTERS group show at our Cologne gallery. The exhibition opens on 5 December 2025.
FINALS DAY: Wednesday 16 April
JAKOB LIMMER – WINNER 2/2 "ART MATTERS 13"
The time has come and we are announcing the second winner of our 13th ART MATTERS online competition: We congratulate the German artist JAKOB LIMMER (*1988, lives and works in Leipzig), whom we hereby invite to participate in the 1st physical ART MATTERS group exhibition in our gallery in late 2025 together with Gabriele Ludewig, BERGERNISSEN and Hyein Jang – the opening will take place on Friday 5 December!
What particularly interests us about Limmer's work is how the artist dissolves the concrete, questions its meaning and places it in new contexts. Series and repetitions are a defining aspect of his approach, not as static iterations, but as evolving confrontations. By engaging intensively with a technique, it develops into a symbolic act – an intersection at which social and mental mechanisms become visible.
Jakob Limmer studied media art at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig with Joachim Blank in the class for installation and space (2016-2020). He previously completed a degree in Sound Design at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences in the Multi-MediaArt programme.
‘Structure and order form the field of tension in which my works are created. They appear as reliable systems, but at the same time reveal their rigidity and limits. My artistic research investigates the subtle mechanisms that shape order, abstracts them and transforms them into visual reflections on power and control.
The resulting works operate on the threshold between the familiar and the unfamiliar. My practice also extends to the audience: the materials used create a tactile physicality that simultaneously attracts and keeps at a distance. They point to hidden structures that shape human behaviour and encourage us to question the seemingly self-evident.’
JAKOB LIMMER
SRA/W 5 (sea green), 2023
stainless steel, silicone, pigment
96 x 48 x 28 cm
STATEMENT
Jakob Limmer (*1988 in Bamberg) studied media art at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig with Joachim Blank in the class for installation and space (2016-2020). He previously completed a degree in Sound Design at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences in the MultiMediaArt programme.
Structure and order form the field of tension in which my works are created. They appear as reliable systems, but at the same time reveal their rigidity and limitations. My artistic research examines the subtle mechanisms that shape order, abstracts them and transforms them into visual reflections on power and control.
I dissolve the concrete, question its meaning and place it in new contexts. Series and repetitions are not mere reproductions, but ongoing, iterative confrontations. Through intensive research into a technique, it develops into a symbolic act - a point of intersection at which social and mental structures become visible.
The resulting works move on the threshold between the familiar and the unfamiliar. My practice also extends to the audience: the materials used create a tactile physicality that simultaneously attracts and keeps at a distance. They point to hidden structures that shape human behaviour and encourage us to question the seemingly self-evident.
At the core of my practice is the investigation of room for manoeuvre - understood as a fragile construct that must be constantly renegotiated. My works open up a space in which control, routine and order are dissolved and transformed - an experimental field that invites reflection on the systems in which we move.
CV
Jakob Limmer
1988 born in Bamberg, Germany
lives and works in Leipzig, Germany
www.jakoblimmer.de
@jakoblimmer
Education
2016-20
- HGB Leipzig, Class for Installation and Space Prof. Joachim Blank, Diploma
2010-13
- Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, MultiMediaArt, specialisation in Sound Design, B.A. in Arts & Design
Selected Exhibitions
2025
- ART MATTERS 13, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online)
2024
- Positions Berlin Art Fair
- PREVIOUS IV, ODP Galerie, Leipzig
- s.t.e.i.n., ODP Galerie, Leipzig (solo)
2023
- PREVIOUS III, ODP Galerie, Leipzig
2022
- WHAT WE ALL WANT, Studio12, Halle 14, Spinnerei Leipzig
- SUBTLY DISSIDENT, ODP Galerie, Leipzig (solo)
- Positions Berlin Art Fair
- APPROACHING THE UNKNOWN, Galerie der HfbK Hamburg
- PREVIOUS II, ODP Galerie, Leipzig
- FLUID GROUNDS, a&o Kunsthalle, Leipzig
- TASTE OF SINS, nyg-west artspace, Leipzig
2020
- PLASTIK, ODP Galerie, Leipzig (solo)
- CALL FOR SUBMISSION, Galerie Baturina, Leipzig (solo)
2019
- WE ALL SHOULD BE LICHENS, A&O Kunsthalle, Leipzig
- ATMO, UG Halle 14, Alte Baumwollspinnerei (Spinnerei), Leipzig
- HUMAN PARTICLES OF THE LIVING SUN, The Art Foundation, Athens
Scholarships/Awards
2022
- Kickstart Stipendium der Stiftung Kunstfonds innerhalb des Projektes NEUSTART KULTUR
2021
- Arbeitsstipendium des Kulturamtes der Stadt Leipzig
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GABRIELE LUDEWIG – WINNER 1/2 "ART MATTERS 13"
It's time to announce our decision and the first winner of our 13th ART MATTERS online competition (the second announcement will follow at 6pm!): We congratulate the German artist GABRIELE LUDEWIG (*1956, lives and works in Hamburg), whom we hereby invite to participate in the 1st physical ART MATTERS group exhibition in our gallery in winter 2025! Other participants in the exhibition, which will open on Friday 5 December: Hyein Jang and BERGERNISSEN, the winners of ART MATTERS 12, and the second winner of ART MATTERS 13 (announcement at 6pm).
In her artistic works, Gabriele Ludewig (1988 graduate of the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg (HfbK) under Ulrich Rückriem, Klaus Bendixen and Franz Erhard Walther) is less concerned with representationalism than with the atmosphere that is conveyed in the objects. Her sculptures impress us with an intense energy that is not visible, but can only be felt. By creating new spaces of energetic concentration with shapes and colours, the artist succeeds in transcending the everyday.
‘With her new series of works ‘Balloons’, Gabriele Ludewig creates sculptures of condensed energy. Finely balanced curves of intense colour combine to form comic-like figures that radiate joy and vitality. The piled forms and colours transfer the principle of formulation and response in the painterly process to the sculpture. The balloons are both concrete and inspirational for imaginations that turn them into a society of idiosyncratic characters.’
GABRIELE LUDEWIG
Balloon No 12, 2024
Artstone
48 x 20 x 20 cm
(photos: Jessica Backhaus)
STATEMENT
With her new series of works ‘Balloons‘, Gabriele Ludewig creates sculptures of condensed energy. Finely balanced curves of intense colour combine to form comic-like figures that radiate joy and vitality. The piled forms and colours transfer the principle of formulation and response in the painterly process to the sculpture. The balloons are both concrete and an inspiration for the imagination, turning them into a society of idiosyncratic characters.
CV
Gabriele Ludewig
1956 born in Hildesheim, Germany
lives and works in Hamburg, Germany
www.gabrieleludewig.de
@gabriele.ludewig
Education
1974
- A-levels
- Hildesheim University of Applied Sciences Art and German Teacher Training Programme
1978
- 1st State Exam
1980
- 2nd State Exam
1981-88
- Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg (HfbK) under Ulrich Rückriem, Klaus Bendixen und Franz Erhard Walther
1988-96
- extended stays abroad in Asia
Selected Exhibitions
2024
- ART MATTERS 13, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online)
- Balloons, nogallery, Cordts Art Foundation, Berlin
2012
- new abstractions, white trash contemporary, Hamburg
2011
- Open Studio, Berlin
2002
- Arte nella Cava, Seravezza, Italy
2001
- Ausufern: Skulpturenprojekt an der Lahn, Marburg, Germany
- Co Laboratorium, Servezza, Italy
2000
- Neue Kunst in alten Gassen, Bad Lasphe, Germany
1999
- In between, Hamburg
- Emergency: Dialoge zum Ausnahmezustand, Hamburg
- Open Village, Dilschhausen, Germany
1988
- Ich werde kommen und es wird Montag sein, Hamburg
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OUR TOP 9 AT ONE GLANCE:
Our final TOP 9 is complete – thank you for participating in our online group show ART MATTERS 13 (from top left):
Eva Dijkstra – Zurab Arabidze – Petko Stoevski
Gabriele Ludewig – Ömer Faruk Kaplan – Sebastian Jauregui
Oliver Schuß – Tae Dong Lee – Jakob Limmer
Tonight at 5pm and again at 6pm we will announce the 2 winners of our Art Matters 13 competition!
About ART MATTERS 13:
Even with the 13th ART MATTERS round, it was not easy for us to select only 9 artists for our online exhibition from the many great submissions we received in response to our last Open Artist Call. But it was a great pleasure to discover and get to know so many great artistic positions!
We hope that this multitude of perspectives and positions results in an exhibition that shows a field of tension, but also a symbiotic dialogue between the individual works of art. An exhibition that fits in with the orientation and philosophy of our gallery, but also definitely brings something new to our programme.
There is so much remarkable art out there, but we can't show it all in our gallery. The ART MATTERS series allows us to present many artistic positions from around the world to a wider online audience for about two weeks, three times a year.
Many thanks to everyone who has been following this project, some for 13 editions already, and many thanks also – above all – to all participating artists, especially to our TOP 9 and the 27 Honourable Mentions (some of which we are still presenting today in our Instagram stories).
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ART MATTERS 12
Online Group Exhibition
Winners
BERGERNISSEN (Alisa Berger & Lena Ditte Nissen) and Hyein Jang
As winners of ART MATTERS 12, BERGERNISSEN and Hyein Jang will participate in our first physical ART MATTERS group show in our Cologne gallery. The exhibition opens on 5 December and two further participants will be selected via our ART MATTERS 13 competition in spring 2025.
FINALS DAY: Wednesday 18 December
HYEIN JANG – WINNER 2/2 "ART MATTERS 12"
The time has come and we are announcing the second winner of our 12th ART MATTERS online competition: We congratulate the South Korean artist HYEIN JANG (*1993, lives and works in Karlsruhe and Würzburg), who we hereby invite to participate in the 1st physical ART MATTERS group exhibition in our gallery in winter 2025 together with the already announced winning duo BERGERNISSEN! (2 more participants of the exhibition will be selected through our next Open Call in March/April 2025! Save the date!!) The young artist's work fascinates us with its impressive emotional depth.
Hyein Jang studied at Kyonggi University in Suwon South Korea and at the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe, where she completed her master's degree with Professor Daniel Roth. In her textile works, fabric installations are superimposed, creating a 3D effect and making the work appear to be in motion. The imperfection of our feelings and memories is expressed through repeated hand stitches.
Emotions are in a constant state of flux and are constantly being restructured within relationships. In her poetically touching work Wodurch werden sie bewegt, Jang depicts this through ‘fabric-like layers’. Over time, emotions can fade in our memories, but the more the layers overlap, the more intensely and clearly they emerge. These layers of fabric break out of the frame of the canvas and move freely in the wind, symbolising the imperfection of emotions. "The fabrics, which have different lengths, move with the wind caused by people passing by. This shows how emotions change and are influenced by relationships with others. With this representation I have visualised the imperfection of emotions and their reconstruction."
HYEIN JANG
Wodurch werden sie bewegt, 2024
hand sewing on fabric
210 x 120 cm
STATEMENT
The memory of emotions
In the society in which we live, our emotions are strongly influenced by our environment and other people. They are constantly changing, and this change also causes changes in ourselves. The self of the past, present and future can be different in each case.
However, these changes can return to their original state or be transformed into a new form through relationships with other people. Emotions are in a constant state of flux and are constantly being restructured within relationships.
I have visualised this through ‘fabric-like layers’. Over time, emotions can fade in our memory, but the more the layers overlap, the more intense and distinct they emerge. These layers of fabric break out of the frame of the canvas and move freely in the wind, symbolising the imperfection of emotions.
The fabrics, which are of different lengths, move with the wind caused by people passing by. This shows how emotions change and are influenced by relationships with others. With this representation, I have visualised the imperfection of emotions and their reconstruction.
Hyein Jang (*1993 in Gyeryong, South Korea) lives and works in Würzburg. She studied at Kyonggi University in Suwon South Korea and at the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe and completed her master's degree at the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe under Professor Daniel Roth.
CV
Hyein Jang
born 1993 in Gyeryong, South Korea
lives and works in Karlsruhe, DE
Education
2023-2024
- Master student, State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe with Prof Daniel Roth
2018-2023
- Free Art (Graphics & Painting), Diploma Programme, State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe with Prof. Daniel Roth, Olaf Quantius
2012-2016
- Fine Arts, Kyonggi University, Suwon, South Korea
Selected Exhibitions
2024
- Group Show, ART MATTERS 12, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (online)
- Group Show, "ARE YOU HAPPY REALLY, AGAIN“, Puchheimer Kulturzentrum PUC, Puchheim
- Duo Show, “Never-ending ever-expanding”, Luisleu Galerie, Karlsruhe
- 4th Southwest German Art Prize, Stiftung Kreissparkasse Esslingen-Nürtingen
- VIII Ellwangen Art Exhibition 2024, im Kunstverein Ellwangen e.V.
- Dounaueschinger Regionale 2024, Donaueschingen Donauhallen, Bartók
- TOP_0024, The master students of the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe at the Ettlingen Museum and on the Wilhelmshöhe
- Kunst im Klub, the 19th Restaurant_Bar_lounge, Karlsruhe
- Karlsruhe Academy Square, Art Karlsruhe 2024
- Solo Show, "Come to mind" Swimmingpool Galerie, Berlin
2023
- Annual exhibition 2023, State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe, juried and curated: Prof Franz Ackermann, Rita Vitorelli and Christian Kobald, Prof Marijke van Warmerdam, Prof Axel Heil
- Diploma exhibition, ‘Echo of memories’, Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Karlsruhe
2022
- Annual exhibition 2022, State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe, juried and curated: Prof. Corinne Wasmuht, Prof. Sophie von Hellermann and Prof. David Ostrowski
2021
- NICHT KUSSEN NICHT HAUEN‘, Kunstparcours in Durlach Karlsruhe
2020
- Junge Kunstler*innen in der Villa, Kunstverein Neustadt an der Weinstraße e.V.
2019
- Kunst-, Handwerk-, Design- und Weihnachtsmesse Karlsruhe, Regierungspräsidium am Rondellplatz
2017
- 25 minutes before scattering, Städtische Galerie Suwon, Suwon, South Korea
2014
- The young painter in a new year, Galerie Gaia, Seoul, South Korea
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BERGERNISSEN – WINNERS 1/2 "ART MATTERS 12"
It's time to announce our decision and the first winners of our 12th ART MATTERS online competition (the second announcement will follow at 6pm!): We congratulate the artist duo BERGERNISSEN (consisting of Alisa Berger and Lena Ditte Nissen, both born in 1987), who we hereby invite to participate in the 1st physical ART MATTERS group exhibition in our gallery in winter 2025! We are particularly impressed by the artists' subtly critical approach to controversial topics.
BERGERNISSEN have been working together on performative, filmic and curatorial projects since 2011 and deal with subjective mythologies and psychological spaces in their work. "The material of our work are group processes, collectively experienced realities and our relationship to cultural institutions. The illusionistic potential of film and cinema is a source of inspiration for the development of our performances and happenings that simulate realities. At the turning point where reason could destroy the illusion, the illusion solidifies to the point of incorruptibility, while at the same time the illusion appears fragile in precisely those places where it should appear consistent and self-evident."
The work European Sleep, submitted by BERGERNISSEN for ART MATTERS 12, is a hauntingly unsettling installation in which a suspended ceiling is faked and a fog machine is installed in it, which channels its smoke through a smoke detector. Instead of reacting to the smoke, the detector itself produces smoke. The work, which quickly reminds the viewer of a kind of gas chamber with an office aesthetic, reflects the problem of security and vigilance as a prerequisite for the destruction of freedom.
BERGERNISSEN
Alisa Berger & Lena Ditte Nissen
European Sleep, 2024
installation consisting of smoke detectors, fog machine, suspended ceiling, wood, plaster, ceiling-lights
dimensions variable
STATEMENT
The material of our work consists of group processes, collectively experienced realities, and our relationship to cultural institutions. The illusionistic potential of film and cinema serves as inspiration for the development of our performances and happenings that simulate realities. At the turning point where reason could destroy the illusion, the deception is consolidated to the point of being incorruptible, while simultaneously the illusion appears fragile in precisely the places where it should seem consistent and self-evident.
Through ritualistic actions or scientific research – and in collaboration with protagonists, objects, and institutional structures – we create situations that illuminate the artificial connections between science, art, spirituality, and politics. The viewer can intervene or withdraw. This exploration of illusory boundaries and their transgression unfolds its power through happening and performance, penetrating into the reality of the viewer.
With European Sleep, BERGERNISSEN create a fake suspended ceiling inside and install a fog machine within it, which directs its smoke through a smoke detector. The smoke detector on the drop ceiling is the only visible object in the room. Instead of reacting to the smoke, the detector generates smoke itself. The system is controlled by a timer, which lets the fog out in short intervals. The work, that quickly reminds the viewer of a sort of gas chamber with office aesthetics, reflects on the problem of security and alertness as a premise for the destruction of freedom. In recent years, freedom and security have often been juxtaposed in the European media in order to concern the masses with the ideas of total surveillance.
CV
Alisa Berger
born 1987 in Makhachkala, Republic of Dagestan, Russia
lives and works in Paris
www.alisabergermun.com
@alisa.berger.mun
www.bergernissen.com
@bergernissen
Education
2022-2024
- Le Fresnoy - Studio national des arts contemporains, Promotion Claude Lévi-Strauss, Tourcoing, FR
2010-2016
- "Media Art" at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne, Cologne, DE
2013
- "Artes Plasticas" at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, COL (international exchange)
2010
- Psychology at the University of Hagen, Hagen, DE
Artistic Collectives/Collaborations
- since 2021 working with Maria Wildeis as sound art duo SONGS FOR SEALS
- since 2019 founded FORTIS FEM FILM production company
- since 2011 working with Lena Ditte Nissen in artistic duo as BERGERNISSEN
Selected Film Festivals
2024
- IDFA International Doc. Fest. Amsterdam Doclab - Immersive Non-Fiction Competition, Amsterdam, NL
- Gimme Some Truth - Dave Barber Cinematheque, Winnipeg, CA
- 14° Sicilia Queer filmfest – International New Visions Festival, Palermo, ITA
- 31° Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, screening, Toronto, CA
- 21o CPH:DOX Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival , screening, Copenhagen, DK
- 16o Imagine Science Film Festival, screening, New York, USA
- 56o Sitges Festival Internacional Cinema Fantastic, screening, Spain
- 19o Lucca Film Festival. Italy
2023
- 30° Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, screening, Toronto, CA
- 41° Festival Cinematográfico Internacional del Uruguay, screening, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Onion City Film Festival, screening, Chicago, USA
2022
- New Orleans Film Festival, screening, New Orleans, USA
- Saigon Experimental Film Festival IV, screening, Saigon, Vietnam
- 18o Lucca Film Festival, screening, Lucca, Italy
2018
- Sci-Fi Film Festival, screening, London, UK
- International Video Art Festival Now&After, Artplay St. Petersburg, group, St. Petersburg, RU
- DC Independent Film Festival, screening, Washington DC, USA
- Filmmor Women Film Festival Istanbul, screening, Istanbul, TURKEY
- Internacional Festival Cinematográfico del Uruguay, screening, Montevideo, URUGUAY
2017
- Filmfestival Max Ophüls Prize, screening, nominated for best feature film, Saarbrücken, DE
2016
- San Diego Underground Film Festival, screening, San Diego, USA
Selected Group Exhibitions/Screenings/Performances
2025
- Kunstpalast: Die Grosse, performance / group, Düsseldorf, DE
2024
- ART MATTERS 12, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, DE (online)
- Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, Benefiz Auktion, group, Aachen, DE
- London Migration Film Festival / Screening Rights, Lexi Cinema, screening, London, UK
- Midlands Art Centre Birmingham / Screening Rights Film Festival, screening, Birmingham, UK
- Pochen Biennale
- “Ex Oriente” , bergernissen, with Lena Ditte Nissen, group, Chemnitz, DE
- Le Fresnoy “Panorama 26”, group, Turcoing, FR
- Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, group “Unforeseen Deviations”, Tokyo, JP
- Biennale NOVA_XX: Plurivers & Contingence, Centre Wallonie Bruxelles, group, Paris, FR
2023
- Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, Benefiz Auktion, group, Aachen, DE
- Le Fresnoy “Panorama 25”, group, Turcoing, FR
- Neuer Kunstraum Düsseldorf “TV Gardener”, group, Düsseldorf, DE
- Fire Flies V - Malkasten Kunstverein, group, Düsseldorf, DE
- Sinema Transtopia, screening, Berlin, DE
2022
- Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, screening, Washington DC, USA
- Kunsthaus NRW Kornelimünster, group, Aachen, DE
- NKR Neuer Kunstraum Düsseldorf VOR DEN BILDERN, group, Düsseldorf, DE
- Diaspora Film Festival, screening, Incheon, KR
- Institut français du Japon, Kyotographie Photography Festival CROWNLETTER, group, Kyoto, JPN
2021
- XIV Krasnoyarsk Museum Biennale, Museum Ploshad Mira, group, Krasnoyarsk, RU
- Kunstverein Malkasten, “Starke Frauen in Kunst und Kultur” Frauenkulturbüro NRW, group, Düsseldorf, DE
- Weltkunstzimmer, “GHOST3”, group and curation of performances, Düsseldorf, DE
- Kunstverein Leverkusen Schloss Morsbroich, performance w/ Manfred Ruecker and Maria Wildeis, Leverkusen, DE
2020
- Literatur Biennale Wuppertal, performance w/ Thorsten Krämer, Andreas Oskar Hirsch, Taka Kagitomi, DE
- Lyrikfestival Literaturhaus Köln “Satelliten” , performance w/ Thorsten Krämer, Cologne, DE
- Kunstverein Malkasten “Culture Loop: Strange days - Erinnerung ist ein Gespenst” online with Dr. Doris Krystof (K21), Düsseldorf, DE
- Striped House Gallery, Arata-Alicia Kitamura’s “MURASAME in Pandemic Day”, performance Tokyo, JP
- SOLO Seoul Art Space Geumcheon “K-Saram”, solo exhibition, Seoul, KR
2019
- KOMAGOME 1-14 contemporary art space “Oriental Discourse” , group, Tokyo, JP
- 7th Nakanojo Biennale - 中之条ビエンナーレ 国際現代芸術祭, Gunma, JP
- Galerie der Künstler München im BBK, w/ Lena Ditte Nissen, group, Munich, DE
- Hay Art Center & Goethe-Institut Yerevan “Die Grenze”, group, Yerevan, Armenia
- Kindl – Centre for Contemporary Art / Babette Cafe, performance, Berlin, DE
- SOLO Gemeinde Köln, AWAKENING: FUTURE, solo of bergernissen, with Lena Ditte Nissen, Köln, DE
- Palace Of Youth Creativity & Goethe Institut Tashkent “Die Grenze”, group, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
2018
- SOLO PATARA Gallery, Behind the Curtain, solo exhibition, Tbilisi, GEO
- Artisterium XI, Tbilisi International Contemporary Art Exhibition, group, GEO
- Kasteyev State Museum of Arts,“Die Grenze” group, Almaty, KAZ
- SOLO S.Y.P. artist space and gallery, solo exhibition of "Three Borders", Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, JPN
- Kunstverein Wolfenbüttel, “Surviving Fitness”, group, as BERGERNISSEN, Wolfenbüttel, DE
- NCCA - Ural National Centre of Contemporary Art, “Die Grenze” group, Yekaterinburg, RU
- Goethe-Institut Yerevan / Mirzoyan Library, screening and performance, Yerevan, ARMENIA
- OAG - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Natur und Völkerkunde Ostasiens, lecture and screening, Tokyo, JAPAN
- AUTOCENTER “last dance” at Kindl - Centre for Contemporary Art, group, Berlin, DE
2017
- SOLO HMKV Hartware MedienKunstverein Dortmund - video of the month “Three Borders”, solo exhibition, Dortmund, DE
- Hartware MedienKunstVerein Dortmund, “Die Grenze” group, Dortmund, DE
- History Museum Tbilisi & Goethe Institut, group, Tbilisi, Georgia
- Dovzhenko Centre / Plivka Art Center & Goethe Institute, group, Kyiv, UKRAINE
- Museum Centre Peace Square & Goethe Institut, group, Krasnoyarsk, RU
- Artplay St. Petersburg & Goethe Institut, group, St. Petersburg, RU
- BACC Bangkok Art & Culture Centre, group, w/ Lena Ditte Nissen as BERGERNISSEN, Bangkok, THA
- MMOMA - Moscow Museum of Modern Art & Goethe Institut, group, Moscow, RU
2016
- KAI 10, Arthena Foundation, performance “TAKE UP YOUR SPACE” as BERGERNISSEN, Düsseldorf, DE
- 2016 Anthology Film Archives - AXWFF, screening, NewYork, USA
- CCA - Center for Contemporary Art, artist talk, screening, curation, Tbilisi, GE
2015
- Kunsthalle Düsseldorf - Time Based Academy, performance, Düsseldorf, DE
- EMAF, group w/ Lena Ditte Nissen as BERGERNISSEN, Kunsthalle Osnabrück, DE
- Videonale Parcours, LVRMuseum & Fabrik45, group, Bonn, DE
2014
- Kunstfilmtage, group w/ Lena Ditte Nissen as BERGERNISSEN, Düsseldorf, DE
- FULL SATURATION. Kunstpavillon, group, München, DE
- Cinemateca Distrital, screening, Bogota, CO
- Synthetic Zero, Bronx Art Space, screening, New York, USA
- K21 Ständehaus Kunstsammlung NRW: Lichterfest , performance w/ Lena Ditte Nissen as BERGERNISSEN
CV
Lena Ditte Nissen
born 1987 in Munich, DE
short films distributed by LightCone Paris and Deutsche Kinemathek
www.lenadittenissen.com
@lenaditte
www.bergernissen.com
@bergernissen
Education
currently
- Kunstuni Linz . PhD candidate with Prof. Karin Harrasser . Linz . AU
2010-2016
- Academy of Media Art Cologne KHM . Cologne . DE
2014-2016
- Kunstakademie Düsseldorf . Düsseldorf . DE
2013
- Universidad Nacional de Bogotá . Fine Art Department . Bogotá . CO
Selected Research Activities/Teaching/Artist Talks
2024
- teaching Artistic Research at Universität zu Köln . DE
- curatorial team of the international symposium ‘PASSED ON’ - symposium on narrativization of vernacular archives . Kunstuniversiät Linz . AU
- guest lecture at Kunstuniversiät Linz . AU
2023
- research travelling in Argentina and Chile
- artist talk at Goethe Institute Buenos Aires . AR
- lecture at Parsons - The New School NYC . USA
- presentation at ÖAW Austrian Academy of the Sciences . AU
- presentation at IFK International Research Center for Cultural Studies Vienna . AU
2022
- moderation of panel discussion at Werkleitz Symposium . Halle . DE
- teaching Artistic Research at Katholische Hochschule NRW Münster . DE
- presentation at ICI - Institute for Cultural Inquiry . Berlin . DE
2021
- teaching Experimental Documentary Film at Katholische Hochschule NRW Münster . DE
- Project-Presentation at Universität Oldenburg . DE
- teaching Artistic Research at Katholische Hochschule NRW Münster . DE
202
- artist talk at ART HUB . Copenhagen . DK
- Lecture at UTOPIA Symposium . Filmbüro NW . DE with Alisa Berger as bergernissen
2019
- screening and master class at FAMU - Film and TV School . Prague . CZ
Selected Residencies/Labs
2024 Arctic Circle, Residency, Svalbard, Norway / 2022/2023 IFK - International Research Center for Cultural Studies, Junior Fellowship, Vienna, AU / 2022 Doc Station - Berlinale Talents, selected participant, Berlin, DE 2021/2022 Sommerakademie Paul Klee, Fellowship, Bern, CH / 2019/2020 KÜNSTLERHAUS BÜCHSENHAUSEN, art & theory fellowship, Innsbruck, AU / 2017 SOMA Summer, Mexico City, MX (residency) / 2016 LIGHT CONE; Atelier 105, Paris, FR (post-production residency) / 2013 lugar a dudas, Cali, Colombia (residency in collaboration with Alisa Berger as bergernissen) / 2012 International Summer Academy Salzburg (fully funding scholarship, course by Mara Mattuschka)
Selected Scholarships/Funding
2024 Danish Arts Foundation (residency funding), 2024 Goethe Institut Norway (residency funding), 2023 Government of Nordrhein-Westphalia (individual research travel scholarship), 2022 - 2025 Austrian Academy of the Sciences, AU (three-year artistic research grant), 2022 Stiftung Kunstfond (one year working grant) 2022 Film und Medien Stiftung NRW (research grant), 2022 Neustart Kultur (working grant), 2020/21 Kunststiftung NRW - Junge Szene (project funding), 2020 Danish Arts Foundation (production grant) 2019/20 Government of Nordrhein-Westphalia (individual travel scholarship) 2017 Bonner Kunstverein, Germany (studio stipend with Alisa Berger as bergernissen), 2017 DAAD (research scholarship for Mexico)
Selected Screenings/Performances/Exhibitions/Online (s/p/e/on)
2026
- Kunstmuseum Reutlingen . DE (e)
2025
- TENDENZ VERZERRUNG - exhibition on the occasion of the ver.di-grant for emerging artitsts . Kunstpavillon München . DE (solo - e)
2024
- ART MATTERS 12, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, DE (on)
- Pochen Biennale . Chemnitz . DE (with Alisa Berger as bergernissen) (e)
2023
- Goethe Center Maputo . MOZ (e)
2022
- Filmmuseum Potsdam . DE (on)
- Gemeinde Köln . DE (solo - e)
2021
- PRISME . Nantes . FR (s)
- FRACTO . Acud Macht Neu . Berlin . DE (s)
- Experiments in Cinema . New Mexico . USA (s)
- IDENTITY IS UNCERTAINTY #2 . Kunstpavillon . Innsbruck . AT (e)
- Window Videos . Buchhandlung Walther König . Cologne . DE (e)
2020
- DOK Leipzig . DE (s) (German Premiere of short film THERE IS)
- A Handful of Dust . Berlin . DE (p) (in collaboration with historian Sandra Franz)
- KinoviSIEon LEO Kino. Innsbruck . AT (solo screening night)
- CPH:DOX . Copenhagen . DK (s) (World Premiere of short film THERE IS)
- Geumcheon Art Space . Seoul . CO (with Alisa Berger as bergernissen) (e)
2019
- Premierentage (Gallery Weekend) . Künstlerhaus Büchsenhausen . Innsbruck . AT (s)
- Cicuito Nomadica . Bologna . ITA (s)
- Galerie der Künstler . München . DE (with Alisa Berger as bergernissen) (e)
- Queer Experimental Shorts . Filmpalette . Köln . DE (s)
- AWAKENING DESTRUCTION . Gemeinde Köln . Köln . DE (with Alisa Berger as bergernissen) (p/e)
- Vorspiel/Transmediale&CTM . Berlin . DE (s)
2018
- Spätgaben . Galerie ohne Namen . München . DE
- Rathausgalerie . DIE FREIHEIT ERHEBT IHR HAUPT . München . DE (e)
- Fragen ohne Antworten . München . DE (with Carl Nissen) (p/e)
- SOLILOQUY WITH MACHINE #1 . The Hub Gallery . München . DE (solo - p)
- Sisters Wild Cinema . Ulm . DE (s)
- SURVIVING THE FITNESS - Kunstverein Wolfenbüttel . DE (with Alisa Berger as bergernissen) (e)
- Rubenstein Arts Center . Duke University . Durham . USA (s)
- Schmalfilmtage Dresden . Dresden . DE (s/p)
2017
- De Ateliers . Amsterdam Gallery Weekend . NL (e)
- Museo de Arte Moderno . Rio de Janeiro . BRA (s)
- Espectro Electromagnético with Goethe Institut Mexico . Mexico City . MX (s)
- 25FPS . special screening programmed by Mads Mikkelsen of CPH:DOX . Zagreb . HR (s)
- La Lumière Collective . Montréal . CA (s)
- Pärnu International Documentary Film Festival . Pärnu . EST (s)
- Edinburgh International Film Festival . UK (s)
- Chicago Underground Film Festival . USA (s)
- Meconio - Muestra de Nuevos Artistas . Madrid . ES (s)
- CPH:DOX . Danish Artists film/video . Copenhagen . DK (s)
- Scratch Projection . LIGHT CONE . Paris . FR (s)
- EVA13 / Media Conference2017 . BACC Bangkok Art and Culture Center . Bangkok . THA (e)
- Gaze As Metaphor . DISPLAY . Berlin . DE (e)
2016
- aCinema . Milwaukee . USA (s)
- Festival de nouveau cinéma . Montréal . CA (s)
- KAI10 | Arthena Foundation . Düsseldorf . DE(with Alisa Berger as bergernissen) (p)
- Belo Horizonte International Short Film Festival . BRA (s)
- Chicago Underground Film Festival . USA (s)
- Edinburgh International Film Festival . UK (s)
- Anthology Film Archives . AXWFF . NewYork . USA (s)
- CCA - Center for Contemporary Art . Tbilisi . Georgia (s)
- Experiments in Cinema . Albuquerque . New Mexico . USA (s)
- Tiefgarage . Köln . DE (with Alisa Bergeras bergernissen) (e)
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OUR TOP 9 AT ONE GLANCE:
Our final TOP 9 is complete – thank you for participating in our online group show ART MATTERS 12 (from top left):
Simone Pick – Amédé Ackermann – Julia Oram
Meike Schlemmer – Max Gehlofen Casper White
Marina Pagh & Susanne Schmidt-Nielsen – Hyein Jang – BERGERNISSEN (Alisa Berger & Lena Ditte NIssen)
Tonight at 5pm and again at 6pm we will announce the 2 winners of our Art Matters 12 competition!
About ART MATTERS 12:
Even with the 12th ART MATTERS round, it was not easy for us to select only 9 artists for our online exhibition from the many great submissions we received in response to our last Open Artist Call. But it was a great pleasure to discover and get to know so many great artistic positions!
We hope that this multitude of perspectives and positions results in an exhibition that shows a field of tension, but also a symbiotic dialogue between the individual works of art. An exhibition that fits in with the orientation and philosophy of our gallery, but also definitely brings something new to our programme.
There is so much remarkable art out there, but we can't show it all in our gallery. The ART MATTERS series allows us to present many artistic positions from around the world to a wider online audience for about two weeks, three times a year.
Many thanks to everyone who has been following this project, some for 10 editions already, and many thanks also – above all – to all participating artists, especially to our TOP 9 and the 27 Honourable Mentions (some of which we are still presenting today in our Instagram stories).
____________________
ART MATTERS 11 – SPECIAL SUMMER EDITION
Online Group Exhibition
Winner
Cheuk Yiu Lo
As the winner of ART MATTERS 11 (Special Summer Edition on the theme "Animalistic"), Cheuk Yiu Lo will take part in the group exhibition "Animalistic" in our Cologne gallery from Friday 17 October 2025 on.
FINALE: Monday 19 August
CHEUK YIU LO – WINNER "ART MATTERS 11"
It's time to announce our decision and the winner of our 11th ART MATTERS online competition: Congratulations to Chinese artist CHEUK YIU LO (*1998, based in Hong Kong and London), who will be invited to participate with a selection of her works in our group exhibition “Animalistic" at our gallery in 2025! This is the first time an artist from China has won our competition!
We are impressed by her unique and poetic expressiveness, which her works already show despite her young age. “The Unsung Citizen“ – her resin sculpture of a duck discreetly “dressed“ in a construction worker's waistcoat – calls for a greater appreciation of the overlooked aspects of our urban environment. It highlights the importance of ducks to the ecosystem and urges the viewer to recognise the small, seemingly insignificant contributions that sustain and enrich our society. The sculpture symbolises their important role in pest control, aquatic health and recreation. "The sculpture celebrates their resilience and silent presence and encourages a more mindful and inclusive view of the community and ecosystem by recognising the essential role these ‘unsung citizens’ play in maintaining ecological balance and enriching the human experience,“ says Lo.
It’s Lo’s craftsmanship and storytelling capability that intrigues us, through which her work invites a compassionate understanding of the unseen. She creates a dialogue between the viewer and the silent narratives of those who are frequently overlooked, emphasizing the importance of empathy and social awareness.
We are fascinated by Lo's craftsmanship and her ability to tell stories, through which her work invites a compassionate understanding of the invisible. She creates a dialogue between the viewer and the silent storyteller.
CHEUK YIU LO
The Unsung Citizen, 2024
acrylic on resin
30 x 18 x 18 cm
ARTIST STATEMENT
"The Unsung Citizen" calls for deeper appreciation of overlooked aspects of our urban environment. Highlighting the importance of ducks in London's parks, it urges viewers to acknowledge the small, seemingly insignificant contributions that sustain and enrich our society. The yellow duck with a subtle vest, mirroring a constructor's outfit, symbolizes their vital role in pest control, aquatic health, and recreation. Celebrating their resilience and quiet presence, the sculpture encourages a more mindful and inclusive view of community and ecosystem, recognizing the essential roles these 'unsung citizens' play in maintaining ecological balance and enriching human experiences.
CV
Cheuk Yiu Lo
born 1998
lives and works in Hong Kong and London
www.locheukyiu.com
@locheukyiu_art
Artistic Background
Cheuk Yiu Lo (b. 1998) is an artist based in Hong Kong and London. She graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art with an MFA in Sculpture in 2023 and the Hong Kong Baptist University Academy of Visual Arts in 2020. Lo’s recent body of work focuses on the intricacies of society's overlooked aspects, human emotions, and relationships, blending these themes with a fusion of nature and humanity.
Lo’s sculptures are deeply rooted in narrative and emotional exploration, depicting scenes and figures that reflect the silent struggles and resilience of marginalized communities. Her pieces highlight themes of isolation, protection, and the power of creative expression. These works capture the delicate balance between vulnerability and strength, urging viewers to engage with the often unnoticed segments of society.
Through her craftsmanship and storytelling, Lo's art invites a compassionate understanding of the unseen. Her sculptures create a dialogue between the viewer and the silent narratives of those who are frequently overlooked, emphasizing the importance of empathy and social awareness.
Lo's practice continues to explore the harmony between the human spirit and the natural world, with an emphasis on the beauty found within vulnerability and the need for protection and care in our communities. Her work transcends the visible, offering a profound commentary on human connections and the subtleties of emotional experience.
Education
2021-23
- Distinction in MFA Fine Art, Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, UK
2018-19
- Exchange study in Iceland Academy of Art, Reykjavík, Iceland
2016-20
- 1st Class Honor in BA Visual Arts, Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
Professional Experience
2023
- Site dresser, S2 events ltd, London
2022
- Experience Ambassador, UCL Campus Experience & Commercial Services Team, UCL
2021
- Student representative of Library committee for postgraduate sculpture, Slade UCL
2019
- Art Basel Hong Kong Booth Assistant, Cardi Gallery
Selected Exhibitions
2024
- ART MATTERS 11, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, DE “online group show“
- Nap, Anonymous, Fishing, ugg, “The Wall is Never Innocent, Unless“
- Anonymous, Gilded Reverence, Art SuperMarket “NEXA art market”
2023
- MaoMao, Gilded Reverence, Henrietta Scrine Contemporary "Weather Report“
- Dependence, Mother, In the gentle light of dawn, eyes unfurled, all is restored, Savouring the Uninvolved View, The Who Gallery "Outside of History“
- Anonymous, Aspiration, Mother, Recollection of Silhouette, Beyond the Sight, Dependence, Slade School of Fine Art "Slade MA/MFA/PHD Degree Show“
- Anonymous, UAL Chinese Society "Mind the Gap“
- Recollection of Silhouette and Greet, Subtitle Labs “Impression”
- Smoke, Slade School of Fine Art “ Slade Interim Show”
2022
- Smoke, Chinese Year Book, Mezhdunarodnyi Hudozhestvennti Fond, Sheng Shi Ge Ya Art Culture, "Time: International Contemporary Art Exhibition“
- Comer, Domestic Pulse, Cilvilized Egg Shells, Untitled, 139 Copeland Rd “The Edge of Safehouse”
- Primal, The Tub Hackney “Synthesis”
- Nature Morte is still life and Life Form, The Holy Art Gallery “Young Blood - Virtual Edition 02”
2021
- Perception, Hong Kong Ocean Park long-term display
2020
- Sky, 天河区文化艺术中心“2020 广州雕塑大展暨澳门雕塑邀请展”
- Sky, Hainan Library“守正与创新—2020‘海口美术作品展’”
- Sky, Hong Kong City Hall Central“Fresh Trend 2020”
2019
- Leave your mark, Sólvallagata 79, 101 Reykjavíkurborg, Iceland “VÍDDUR”
- Not able to calculate the sum of a continuously growing figure, but a figure of a temporary moment, HKBU Communication and Visual Arts Building
2018
- Perception, Hong Kong Vitoria Park “Hong Kong Flower Show 2018”
- Perception, HKBU Communication and Visual Arts Building
- Lion Siblings, “Marble Fable” HKBU Communication and Visual Arts Building
Selected Publications
2023
- Ocula, London Graduates 2023: Young Artists to Watch
2020
- A.M.Post Artplus, Aspiration of the "Young Heart" Revealed by Diversified Arts Creation
- CNN, Creative Class of 2020: From New York to Tokyo, art students share what it's like to graduate during a pandemic, 14 July 2020
- 我形我塑【学院展讯】香港浸会大学视觉艺术学院:2020 届雕塑本科线上毕业 展
- 雕塑头条『雕塑头条』香港浸會大學視覺藝術學院雕塑專業 2020 届本科生畢業 作品
- 当代雕塑 香港浸会大学视觉艺术学院:2020 届雕塑本科线上毕业展
2018
- Hong Kong Baptist University News Visual Arts students showcase wood sculptures at Flower Show
Selected Collections
2020
- Über-dream – held within the HKBU Academy of Visual Art Studies Collection
- Perception – collected by Hong Kong Ocean Park
2021
- Tian – private collector
2022
- Primal, Fleeting Smoke – private collectors
2023
- Greet, Aspiration, Recollection of Silhouette, Beyond the Sight, first model of In the gentle light of dawn, eyes unfurled, all is restored – private collectors
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OUR TOP 9 AT ONE GLANCE:
Our final TOP 9 is complete – thank you for participating in our online group show "Animalistic" (from top left): Nathan Schönewolf – Björn Heyn – Johannes Rave – Eunjung Suh – Anja Segermann – Cheuk Yiu Lo – Pascal Wild – Camille Theodet & Sali Muller.
Tonight at 6pm we will announce the winner of our Art Matters 11 competition!
About ART MATTERS 11:
Even with the 11th ART MATTERS round (9 regular and 2 Special Summer Editions with thematic specification), it was not easy for us to select only 9 artists for our online exhibition from the many great submissions we received in response to our last Open Artist Call. But it was a great pleasure to discover and get to know so many great artistic positions!
We hope that this multitude of perspectives and positions results in an exhibition that shows a field of tension, but also a symbiotic dialogue between the individual works of art. An exhibition that fits in with the orientation and philosophy of our gallery, but also definitely brings something new to our programme.
There is so much remarkable art out there, but we can't show it all in our gallery. The ART MATTERS series allows us to present many artistic positions from around the world to a wider online audience for about two weeks, two to three times a year.
Many thanks to everyone who has been following this project, some for 10 editions already, and many thanks also – above all – to all participating artists, especially to our TOP 9 and the 27 Honourable Mentions (some of which we are still presenting today in our Instagram stories).
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ART MATTERS 10
Online Group Exhibition
Winner
Heike Weber
As the winner of ART MATTERS 10, Heike Weber took part in the group exhibition "Analogies" in our Cologne gallery in May/June 2025.
FINALE: Monday 15 April
HEIKE WEBER – WINNER "ART MATTERS 10"
It is time to announce our decision and declare the winner of our 10th ART MATTERS online competition: We congratulate the German sculptor and painter HEIKE WEBER (*1973), who will be invited to participate in a group exhibition in our gallery with a selection of her works in early 2025 (TBD)! This is the first time that an artist from our hometown of Cologne has won!
Heike Weber has been among our ART MATTERS finalists several times in the past and we have been able to get to know and appreciate her work – encompassing concrete spatial sculptures made of ceramic, steel and bronze, as well as wall works made of aluminium and paintings – better and better. It is above all her small-format ceramic sculptures with their concrete curved lines and seemingly effortless compositions that fascinate and inspire us.
By combining individual, similar shapes, Weber creates minimalist objects with interior spaces. The sculptures grow into a new whole, a sometimes seemingly organic abstract object, a spatial work. Through the way in which the connections are made, they develop their own formal language, which we as viewers seek to explore.
Concrete spaces are created through the connection of clear forms, arches form a space, they harbour an interior and form a protective space for the interior directed outwards. Abstract and playful at the same time.
HEIKE WEBER
OUR TOP 9 AT ONE GLANCE:
Our TOP 9 is complete – thank you for participating in our online group show to (from top left): Petra Schmidt – Kirsi Kivivirta – Michael Francis Ryan – Nanou Dupuis – Azim F. Becker – Amelia Nin – Heike Weber – Clara Lemos – Anne Berlit.T
Tonight at 6pm we will announce the winner of our Art Matters 10 competition!
About ART MATTERS 10:
Even with the 10th ART MATTERS round (9 regular and one special edition last summer), it was not easy for us to select only 9 artists for our online exhibition from the many great submissions we received in response to our last Open Artist Call. But it was a great pleasure to discover and get to know so many great artistic positions!
We hope that this multitude of perspectives and positions results in an exhibition that shows a field of tension, but also a symbiotic dialogue between the individual works of art. An exhibition that fits in with the orientation and philosophy of our gallery, but also definitely brings something new to our programme.
There is so much remarkable art out there, but we can't show it all in our gallery. The ART MATTERS series allows us to present many artistic positions from around the world to a wider online audience for about two weeks, two to three times a year.
Many thanks to everyone who has been following this project, some for 10 editions already, and many thanks also – above all – to all participating artists, especially to our TOP 9 and the 27 Honourable Mentions (some of which we are still presenting today in our Instagram stories).
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ART MATTERS 9
Online Group Exhibition
1st Winner
Kira Fröse
As the 1st winner of ART MATTERS 9, Kira Fröse presented her LAB solo exhibition Nach Strich und Faden in our Cologne gallery from July to August 2024.
2nd Winner
Albrecht/Wilke
As the 2nd winner of ART MATTERS 9, the artist duo Albrecht/Wilke presented their online solo exhibition Imbissnasen on our website from June to August 2023.
1st Prize: KIRA FRÖSE – Winner Gallery Group Show
Congratulations to KIRA FRÖSE: German artist Kira Fröse (*1992, lives and works in Bochum) is today the second of our two ART MATTERS 9 winners and will be invited with a selection of her works to participate in a group exhibition in our gallery in Cologne in 2024! Fröse's work is emotional and focuses on the longing for haptic experiences. Shiny surfaces, structured flowing forms and dynamic matter - the juxtaposition of stillness and movement fascinates and inspires us. Her works invite us to mistrust our senses and reinterpret the familiar. And in this respect, we already have some ideas for a fun and beautiful presentation with Kira Fröse's works and look forward to working with the artist in the near future!
"Through the use of colour, organic, playful, and dynamic shapes, my work wants to seduce and invite the viewers to experience what is in front of them with their own senses and imagination. Subconsciously influenced by the aesthetics of nature and used objects of everyday life, I create static forms that depict motion and appear to be smooth and light despite the heaviness of their substance. Observing more closely one can perceive that aesthetics can only endure through the presence of unaesthetic detail."
KIRA FRÖSE
quetschbar, 2015
old dishwasher, textile, spray paint
70 x 68 x 50 cm
2nd Prize: ALBRECHT/WILKE – Winner Online Solo Show
Congratulations to the artist duo ALBRECHT/WILKE: The Berlin artists Albrecht/Wilke (Tim Albrecht, *1992 in Berlin and Hannes Wilke, *1991 in Stade) are today the first of our two ART MATTERS 9 winners and will be presented in 2024 with a selection of their works on canvas and paper in a solo online exhibition on our website and our social media channels! Figurative, but also abstract, associative, subjective – the central theme of the works is the examination of the German middle class milieu. To this end, the artists blend the art and (pop) cultural history of the past century with a hefty dose of zeitgeist: We simply love their humorous play with clichés and ironic comparisons and already look forward to the collaboration!
"We are painters. We paint what we see. We paint what's good!" - with these sentences we introduce our manifesto "Good Painting". In contrast to the concept of bad painting, this initially seemingly bold slogan dissolves into a humorous play with clichés and ironic comparisons in the rest of the manifesto, just as we do with painting. Our pictures are an interweaving of formal elements, art-historical quotations and a lot of irony."
ALBRECHT/WILKE
Currywurst (Kommste vonne Schicht, Wat schönret gibt et nich’), 2023
oil and acrylic on canvas
140 x 120 cm
OVERVIEW OF OUR TOP 15
Our TOP 15 is complete – thank you for participating in our online group show to (from top left): Paul Ahl, Jan Jansen, Simone Pick, Jamie Drouin, Stephen Whatcott, Alejandro Javaloyas, Birgit Cauer, Danil Yordanov, Tom Cartmill, Amélie von Heydebreck, Heike Weber, Kira Fröse, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Nuss, Albrecht/Wilke & Xu Zheng.
About ART MATTERS 9:
Even with the 9th ART MATTERS round (8 regular and one special edition last summer), it was not easy for us to select only 15 artists for our online exhibition from the many great submissions we received in response to our last Open Artist Call. But it was a great pleasure to discover and get to know so many great artistic positions!
We hope that this multitude of perspectives and positions results in an exhibition that shows a field of tension, but also a symbiotic dialogue between the individual works of art. An exhibition that fits in with the orientation and philosophy of our gallery, but also definitely brings something new to our programme.
There is so much remarkable art out there, but we can't show it all in our gallery. The ART MATTERS series allows us to present many artistic positions from around the world to a wider online audience for just over two weeks, two to three times a year.
Many thanks to everyone who has been following this project, some for 9 editions already, and many thanks also - above all - to all participating artists, especially to our TOP 15 and the 45 Honourable Mentions (some of which we are still presenting today in our Instagram stories).
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ART MATTERS 8 – Special Summer Edition
Online Group Exhibition
Winner
Eric Keller
As the winner of ART MATTERS 8, Eric Keller took part in the group exhibition LANDSCAPE?! in our Cologne gallery from September to November 2024.
ERIC KELLER: Winner ART MATTERS Summer 2023
Congratulations to ERIC KELLER: The German artist (born 1985, lives and works in Dresden) is the winner of our ART MATTERS Summer 2023 competition with his painting “Einfahrt" (“Driveway“, 2022, oil on wood, 60 x 85 cm)!
We cordially invite him to participate with a selection of his works in a group exhibition on the theme LANDSCAPES at our gallery in Cologne in September 2024!
Eric Keller's pictures show places, cities and landscapes, sometimes also people and portraits. However, it is not only about copying a place or a person, but also about observing experienced moments, moods and processes. Keller transfers his visual memories into a painterly fiction, set in a placeless sphere full of moods and feelings. We are fascinated by the almost eerie atmosphere in his work, by the earthy colours and tones of his landscapes, which often seem strangely misty. Reminiscent of dream or film images, his works are certainly not optimistic, but the stories they unfold are very compelling in a peculiar way. Keller's images are ultimately fiction that show us an emotional way of perceiving reality.
"[...] The more intensively one looks, the better one's eyes grasp the transparent, vibrating and iridescent richness of Keller's colour fabrics. Beyond representational depictions, his paintings are also manifestos of what can be achieved with the means of painting. But Keller does not work conceptually. He does not need a theoretical underpinning and does not load his paintings with calculated references. Intuition and the inner visual memory play an important role. Unlike most representational painters today, he does not use photographs as models. "Everything I paint I have seen in real life," Keller explains. "But I don't capture anything in the landscapes and architectures, nor do I take photographs. At that moment on site, I don't yet know that a painting will come out of it." An unconscious saving. When painting, Keller returns to the spaces and topographical situations in his imagination. But he must have actually experienced all the impressions. "Otherwise they don't become usable for me." [...]" (Excerpt from Remembrance of the Present: Sebastian Preuss on the work of Eric Keller)
ERIC KELLER
OVERVIEW OF OUR TOP 9
Our final TOP 9 is complete! Thank you for participating in our online group exhibition (from top left): Lorenz Bögle, Hanna Kaminski, Luis Zimmermann, Maximilian Welz, Lars Unger, Christo Daskaltsis, Eric Keller, Jean/Yohanan Delaunay-Israël & Marc Fiegle.
Check out our last 9 posts further down or on Instagram to find out everything about ART MATTERS Summer 2023 and the 9 artists/artworks we selected via our latest open call!
And check back later at 6pm when we announce the winner of our online competition from the 9 finalists. Today is finals day and we reveal the name of the artist who will be invited to participate in a group exhibition on the theme of LANDSCAPES at our gallery in Cologne.
About ART MATTERS SUMMER 2023:
The first Special Summer Edition of our ART MATTERS series followed our recent 8th Open Artist Call, with which for the first time we set a theme for submissions: LANDSCAPES. In selecting the artists and their works, we did not necessarily focus on classic, figurative landscape depictions. And so we also present abstract, almost minimalist works that often only convey the idea of a landscape and make the exhibition an eclectic overall presentation.
Also for this latest ART MATTERS round, it was not easy for us to choose only 9 artists for our online exhibition from the many great submissions we received in response to our 8th open call. There are so many remarkable things out there, but we cannot show them all in our gallery. The ART MATTERS series allows us to present many artistic positions from around the world to a wider online audience two or three a year for about two weeks.
Many thanks to all of you who follow this project, some of you for 8 issues already, and many thanks also to all participating artists, especially to our TOP 9 and the 27 Honourable Mentions (there are still some to be presented on our Instagram Stories today!).
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ART MATTERS 7
Online Group Exhibition
1st Winner
Austin Turley
As the 1st winner of ART MATTERS 7, Austin Turley took part in the group exhibition achromatic in our Cologne gallery from January to March 2024.
2nd Winner
Elizabeth Charnock
As the 2nd winner of ART MATTERS 7, Elizabeth Charnock presented her online solo exhibition At a Distance on our website from October to December 2023.
AUSTIN TURLEY: Winner Gallery Group Show
Congratulations to AUSTIN TURLEY: The US artist (born 1977, lives and works in Portland, OR) is the second of our two ART MATTERS 7 winners and will be invited with a selection of his works to a group exhibition at our gallery in Cologne in early 2024 (TBD)! We are intrigued by Turley’s artistic exploration of kiln-formed, cold-worked glass. The resulting wall objects are intimately small and fragile, yet bold and striking. We already have some ideas for a beautiful presentation with Austin Turley's works and look forward to working with the artist in the near future!
“Spontaneity, improvisation, and techniques of the bricoleur are the result of keen observations, which can lead to finding relevancy in the unexpected. I believe my modes of making are parallel to those of the bricoleur, exploring the notion that science and mystical thought are equivalent approaches to understanding the world around us. I am interested in the transformative character of objects as they evolve, erode, and alter throughout time. As I continue to learn and experiment with the complexities of kiln formed glass, my focus and research revolves around the language of the medium itself, how it behaves, its characteristics, and its properties. I believe emphasizing these rhythms, patterns, and formations possess the capacity to act as a proxy for things beyond itself and its seemingly simple physical existence. This correspondence between the glass is a layered iterative process of unmaking and remaking, engaging strategies of repetition, interference, and disruption. My aim is to create presence within the overlooked and challenge how we view, experience, and navigate our conditions.“
AUSTIN TURLEY
Variant 5, 2022
kiln formed, cold worked glass
18 x 13 x 2 cm
ELIZABETH CHARNOCK: Winner Online Solo Show
Congratulations to ELIZABETH CHARNOCK: The young artist (born 1990 in the UK, lives and works in Berlin) is today the first of our two ART MATTERS 7 winners and will be presented with a selection of her ink drawings in an online solo exhibition on our website and social media channels in late 2023 (TBD)! Charnock's uninhabited spaces and urban situations are hauntingly beautiful. With her focused and clear visual vocabulary, she succeeds in stimulating our playful imagination. Her painterly minimalism also allows for open associations about our modern civilisation. We feel very connected to the artist's work, look forward to the collaboration and are excited to see where it will take us!
"The built environment and urban planning ideologies are common themes throughout her practice. Spatial relationships inform her work at all scales – from entire cities and street scenes, to the seemingly banal small structures which permeate our surroundings. By referencing a large body of documentary photography, she mentally collages multiple urban elements into imagined environments, which are meticulously rendered with multiple layers of ink on paper.
Her work often captures moments ‘in-between’ – miniature snapshots of tranquility before or after human activity. The scenes she creates inhabit realms that are entirely fictional, yet instantly recognisable. The uninhabited spaces evoke feelings of isolation, offering familiarity – but only at a distance – whilst inviting the viewer to reassess their own sense of place within the setting."
ELIZABETH CHARNOCK
50 x 40 cm (without frame)
OVERVIEW OF OUR TOP 15
Our TOP 15 is complete – thank you for participating in our online group show to (from top left): Stephen Whatcott, Benjamin Schoones, Tom Cartmill, Petra Schmidt, Anja Rausch, Austin Turley, Pascal Ungerer, John Trashkowsky, Nicolas Vionnet, Heike Weber, Sinéad Butler-Aldridge, Nadine Karl, David Mohr, Elizabeth Charnock & Jaewon Kim.
Check out our last 15 posts further down or on Instagram to find out everything about ART MATTERS 7 and the 15 artists/artworks we selected via our latest open call!
And make sure to come back later when we declare the two winners of our online competition. It is finals day today and we reveal:
- at 5pm the artist who will be rewarded an online solo show
- at 6pm the artist who will be invited to participate in a group show in our gallery in Cologne.
About:
Also for the 7th ART MATTERS round, it was not easy for us to choose only 15 artists for our online exhibition from the many great submissions we received in response to our 7th open call for artists. But it was a great pleasure for us to discover so many great artists! There are so many remarkable things out there, but we cannot show them all in our gallery. The ART MATTERS series allows us to present many artistic positions from around the world to a wider online audience twice a year for just over two weeks.
Many thanks to all of you who follow this project, some of you for 7 issues already, and many thanks also to all participating artists, especially to our TOP 15 and the 45 Honourable Mentions (there are still some to be presented today!).
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ART MATTERS 6
Online Group Exhibition
1st Winner
Molly Thomson
As the 1st winner of ART MATTERS 6, Molly Thomson took part in the group exhibition TRIALOGUE - Aspects of Abstraction in our Cologne gallery from June to August 2023.
2nd Winner
Rosina Rosinski
As the 2nd winner of ART MATTERS 6, Rosina Rosinski presented her online solo exhibition Damian on our website from February to April 2023.
FINALS DAY: Sunday 30 October
MOLLY THOMSON: Winner Gallery Group Show
Congratulations to Molly Thomson: The Scottish artist (*1953, lives and works in Norwich, England) is the second of our two ART MATTERS 6 winners and will take part in a group exhibition at our gallery in Cologne in 2023 with a selection of her works! More about this soon.
The fact that with Molly Thomson, former MA (Painting) student at the Royal College of Art in London, we have a second female winner is pure coincidence. Her work, however, fits seamlessly into our largely abstract-minimalist gallery programme. The subject of "sculptural painting" has interested us for many years and Thomson - primarily a painter - also explores the subject of the painting and its hybrid identities.
"Beginning most often with the simple fact of the rectangular painting panel I place myself in the position of both agent and observer, using acts of cutting, reassembling and pouring to re-form - and respond to - each piece. I am interested not only in the layered facade that is presented, but also in the fact that the painting casts and contains shadows.
[…] Interior spaces are often implicated, even if only glimpsed through the smallest of openings, and I am interested in the quiet question that such breaks in the facade might pose. Sometimes the paintings are layered, suggesting compressed strata of parallel surfaces. Some paintings may quietly allude to what cannot or shouldn’t be seen, while others flex their joints or extend their surfaces with a touch more expansiveness. […]"
We already have some ideas for a group exhibition with Molly Thomson's works and look forward to collaborating with the artist in the near future!
MOLLY THOMSON
Painting with wedged interior, 2022
acrylic, filler, wooden panel
36 x 27 x 6 cm
ROSINA ROSINSKI: Winner Online Solo Show
Congratulations to Rosina Rosinski: The young artist (*1989, lives and works in Dortmund, DE) is the first of our two ART MATTERS 6 winners today and will - in 2023 - be presented with a selection of her paintings in an online solo exhibition on our website and social media channels! More info soon.
With the highest level of female artist participation in our ART MATTERS competition ever, it is only fitting that at least one winner is a woman. Rosina Rosinski's bold paintings and self-portraits feature strong, larger-than-life female figures and are based on Christian and mythological iconography. At first glance garish, colourful and loud, the paintings increasingly draw the viewer in, discussing gender issues and tackling themes of life, death and vanity.
Rosina Rosinski is only our second female winner after Patrizia Kränzlein (ART MATTERS 2). And it is also the first time ever that figurative art has won in our competition. This is also due to the fact that we received and were able to select from more figurative works than in all previous ART MATTERS editions.
Rosinski's works represent a completely new and exciting direction for us. They not only work in physical space, but their vibrant colours and Rosinski's meticulous way of painting clean, print-like surfaces make them perfect for online presentations. We feel a strong connection to the artist's work, look forward to the collaboration and are excited to see where it will take us!
ROSINA ROSINSKI
Home safely (Venus mourning the death of Adonis), 2022
acrylic and airbrush on canvas
150 x 195 cm
Our TOP 15
Our TOP 15 is complete – thank you for participating in our online group show to (from top left): Zixu Wang, Rosina Rosinski, Molly Thomson, Tomica Radulovic, Christine Lee, Gemma Carson, Brennan Wojtyla, Silvia Giordani, Katya Granova, Heike Weber, Frijke Coumans, Graziela Guardino, Roberto Rivadeneira, Mattia Noal und John Brendan Guinan.
Check out our last 15 posts further down or on Instagram to find out everything about ART MATTERS 6 and the 15 artists/artworks we selected via our latest open call!
And make sure to come back later when we declare the two winners of our online competition. It is finals day today and we reveal:
- at 5pm the artist who will be rewarded an online solo show
- at 6pm the artist who will be invited to participate in a group show in our gallery in Cologne.
About:
Again for the 6th ART MATTERS round, it was not easy for us to choose only 15 artists for our online exhibition out of the many great submissions we received in response to our 6th Open Artist Call. But it definitely was a great pleasure to discover and get to know so many great artists! There is so much remarkable art out there, but we cannot show it all in our gallery. The ART MATTERS series allows us to present many artistic positions from all over the world to a wider online audience twice a year for a little more than 2 weeks.
Many thanks to all of you who follow this project, some of you for 6 issues by now, and many thanks also to – most of all – all the participating artists, especially to our TOP 15 and the 45 Honourable Mentions (there are still some to be featured today!).
We found it particularly remarkable this time that more female artists than usual applied. That there was even more international participation, especially from Eastern but also Northern and increasingly Southern European countries. There were also many more applicants than usual from Asia, North and South America and Australia and even Africa. What pleased us most, however, was that finally more figurative artists applied, as abstraction has always been predominant at ART MATTERS. All this is reflected in the selection of our TOP 15, which is more eclectic than ever before.
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ART MATTERS 5
Online Group Exhibition
1st Winner
Vittorio Bianchi
As the 1st winner of ART MATTERS 5, Vittorio Bianchi took part in the group exhibition TRIALOGUE - Delicate Strength in our Cologne gallery from January to February 2023.
2nd Winner
Arran Rahimian
As the 2nd winner of ART MATTERS 5, Arran Rahimian presented his online solo exhibition TIME on our website from November 2022 to January 2023.
Following our 5th Open Artist Call, we launch our new ART MATTERS 5 online group exhibition on Saturday 9 April at 6pm CET. From all the applications received, we have selected 15 finalists, who will be presented with their submitted artworks on our website, Instagram and Facebook, one after the other until 23 April. Every day at 6pm, a new name and artwork will be unveiled so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole. The presentation of our Top 15 is rounded off by "Honourable Mentions" in our daily Instagram stories, in which we acknowledge the works of a selected number of artists who just missed the final cut (45, to be exact, posted in our Instagram stories from 10 to 24 April, 2 per day and between noon and 6pm).
On Sunday 24 November at 5 and 6pm, we will announce for the first time two winners of our online competition: One will receive a solo online exhibition, the other will be invited to participate in a group exhibition in our gallery space in Cologne.
About our ART MATTERS series:
Just like with our first four open artist call projects in April and November 2020 and again in April and November 2021, we were aware how versatile and eclectic this fourth online exhibition could be. But it was precisely the idea of an open call that appealed to us: to invite artists from the most diverse directions to apply and submit their work. From this multitude of perspectives and positions, we look forward to get an exhibition that shows a field of tension but also a symbiotic dialogue between the individual artworks. An exhibition that matches the direction and philosophy of the gallery, but also brings something new to our programme.
Sunday 24 April: Finals Day 3/3 - VITTORIO BIANCHI
Congratulations to Vittorio Bianchi: The Italian artist from Milan is the second of our two ART MATTERS 5 winners today and will soon be presented with a selection of his works in a group exhibition at our gallery in Cologne! More information on this coming soon.
Of course, it is difficult to choose a winner or - as in this case - two winners from a large number of beautiful artists who applied through an Open Call. It is not a question of better or worse. Rather, it is about a feeling. As previously described with Arran Rahimian, we feel a strong connection with Vittorio Bianchi's work and believe it fits well into our gallery programme! One of our favourites since the work was submitted due to its inherent textile and also sculptural aspects, we already have a very nice project in mind that we will realise with the artist as soon as possible. We look forward to the collaboration and are excited to see what develops!
Winner 1/2: Vittorio Bianchi
R #6, 2019
polyurethane, nylon, Capaver glass fabric
119 x 83,5 cm
Sunday 24 April: Finals Day 2/3 - ARRAN RAHIMIAN
Congratulations to Arran Rahimian: The young artist, Edinburgh-based artist is the first of our two ART MATTERS 5 winners today and will soon be featured with a selection of his paintings in a solo online exhibition on our website and social media channels! More info on this soon.
We feel a strong connection with the artist's work and believe it will fit in well with our gallery programme and also be beautifully communicable as an online exhibition. We look forward to the collaboration and are excited to see where this will take us!
Winner 2/2: Arran Rahimian
46 Hours, 2022
oil on canvas
76 x 70 cm (framed)
Sunday 24 April: Finals Day 1/3 - the TOP 15
TOP 15
Our Top 15 is complete – thank you for participating in our online group show to (in order of their daily posts): Stephen Wozniak, Bianca Barandun, Stephen Whatcott, Max Geisler, Mika Natri, Elliott Mickleburgh, Arran Rahimian, Tomoko Konae, Alejandro Javaloyas, James OKeefe, Paulus Maassen, Johannes Steininger, Vittorio Bianchi, Jonathan Ducrest and last but not least Johan Van Oeckel.
Check out our last 15 posts further down or on Instagram to find out everything about ART MATTERS 5 and the 15 artists/artworks we selected via our latest open call!
And make sure to come back later when we, Galerie Biesenbach as the jury of ART MATTERS 5, declare for the first time not one but two winners of our online competition. It is finals day today and we reveal:
- at 5pm the artist who will be reward an online solo show
- at 6pm the artist who will be invited to participate in a group show in our gallery in Cologne.
About:
Again for the 5th ART MATTERS round, it was not easy for us to choose only 15 artists for our online exhibition out of the many great submissions we received in response to our 5th Open Artist Call. But it definitely was a great pleasure to discover and get to know so many great artists! There is so much remarkable art out there, but we cannot show it all in our gallery. The ART MATTERS series allows us to present many artistic positions from all over the world to a wider online audience twice a year for a little more than 2 weeks.
Many thanks to all of you who follow this project, some of you for 5 issues by now, and many thanks also to – most of all – all the participating artists, especially to our Top 15 and the 45 Honourable Mentions (still some to be featured today).
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ART MATTERS 4
Online Group Exhibition
Winner
Alireza Elahi
As the winner of ART MATTERS 4, Alireza Elahi took part in the group exhibition Where the Rubber Meets the Road in our Cologne gallery from June to August 2022.
Following our 4th Open Artist Call, we have launched our new ART MATTERS 4 online group exhibition on Sunday 17 October at 6pm. From all the applications received, we have selected 15 finalists, who will be presented with their submitted artworks on our website, Instagram and Facebook, one after the other until 31 October. Every day at 6pm, a new name and artwork will be unveiled so that the exhibition slowly comes together as a whole. The presentation of our Top 15 is rounded off by "Honourable Mentions" in our daily Instagram stories, in which we acknowledge the works of a selected number of artists who just missed the final cut (90, to be exact, posted in our Instagram stories from 18 October to 1 November, 6 per day and between noon and 6pm).
On Monday 1 November at 6pm, the winner of our online competition will be announced: He or she will be invited to participate in an exhibition in our gallery space in Cologne in 2022.
We invite you to visit ART MATTERS 4 regularly here on our website, Instagram and Facebook.
About our ART MATTERS series:
Just like with our first three open artist call projects in April and November 2020 and again in April 2021, we were aware how versatile and eclectic this fourth online exhibition could be. But it was precisely the idea of an open call that appealed to us: to invite artists from the most diverse directions to apply and submit their work. From this multitude of perspectives and positions, we look forward to get an exhibition that shows a field of tension but also a symbiotic dialogue between the individual artworks. An exhibition that matches the direction and philosophy of the gallery, but also brings something new to our programme.
Monday 1 November: Finals Day
ART MATTERS 4: And the winner is... Alireza Elahi (*1991, lives and works Tehran) – congratulations! We are pleased to include an Iranian artist in our programme for the first time and to present his expressive abstract paintings in one of our upcoming gallery group exhibitions.
Also for the 4th ART MATTERS round, it was not easy for us to choose only 15 artists for our online exhibition out of the many great submissions we received in our 4th Open Artist Call, and then also to choose a single winner.... It was definitely fun to discover and get to know so many great artistic positions! There is so much remarkable art out there, we can't show it all in our gallery. But the ART MATTERS series allows us to present many artistic positions from all over the world to a wider audience online twice a year for a little more than 2 weeks.
Many thanks to all of you who follow this project, some of you for 4 issues by now, and many thanks also – most of all – to all participating artists, especially to our Top 15, namely (in order of their daily posts: Alireza Elahi, Katja Pál, Bislacchi, Amir Chasson, Mariejon de Jong-Buijs, Aaron Kaveh Ossia, Molly Thomson, René Korten, Stephen Wozniak, Peter Evans, Eva Dijkstra, Beverly Rautenberg, Alan Greenberg, Clemens Gritl and last but not least Sharon Haward.
ALIREZA ELAHI
untitled, 2020
acrylic and spray paint on primed canvas
150 x 100 cm
OUR TOP 15
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ART MATTERS 3
Online Group Exhibition
Winner
Stephen Burke
As the winner of ART MATTERS 3, Stephen Burke took part in the group exhibition Where the Rubber Meets the Road in our Cologne gallery from June to August 2022.
To curate our new online group exhibition ART MATTERS 3, we have been looking for international visual artists via open call from 14-28 March, 2021. From all applications received, our independent jury, the Reclaim Collective, finally selected 15.
On a daily basis at 6pm CET sharp from Sunday, 11 April onwards, all 15 finalists will be presented one by one with their submitted work exclusively on galerie-biesenbach.de and our Instagram/Facebook accounts. The presentation of our Top 15 is rounded off by "Honourable Mentions" in our daily Instagram stories, in which we acknowledge the works of a selected number of artists who just missed the final cut (90, to be exact, posted in our Instagram stories from 12 to 26 April, 6 per day and between noon and 6pm).
On Monday, 29 April at 6pm the winner of our competition will be announced: He or she will be invited to participate in an exhibition in 2021 in our gallery rooms in Cologne.
About our ART MATTERS series:
Just like with our first two open artist call projects in April and November 2020, we were aware how versatile and eclectic this third online exhibition could be – especially since we decided to have it curated by an independent jury. But it was precisely the idea of an open call that appealed to us: to invite artists from the most diverse directions to apply and submit their work. From this multitude of perspectives and positions, we look forward to get an exhibition that shows a field of tension but also a symbiotic dialogue between the individual artworks. An exhibition that matches the direction and philosophy of the gallery, but also brings something new to our programme.
Finals Day
Group photo with 15 finalists, including 1 winner - please scroll down and read on to find out who won our 3rd ART MATTERS online competition!
First and foremost though, we'd like to thank our judges – the guys from Reclaim Collective – for collaborating with us on this project and putting together such a beautiful, eclectic exhibition! We know how hard it is to choose from all the submissions we received as part of our open call, to select just 15 artists and then also to narrow it down to one winner... But it was definitely an immense pleasure for us to discover so many great artists or to get to know them better!
Thanks also to all of you who have been following this project, some of you since we started it a year ago, and thanks – most of all – to all the artists involved, especially our Top 15, namely: Patia Fa, Isabella Convertino, Jeroen Molenaar, Dorota Goczal, PUTPUT, Vera Saldivar de Lira, Paul Snell, Chris Tille, Stephen Burke, Oliver Cain, Susanne Stähli, Daniel Morata Gressel, Rafael Raposo Pires, Maaike Kramer and last but not least Francisco Valenca Vaz.
But in the end, there can only be one and our jury chose Stephen Burke (*1991 in Dublin, lives and works in Dublin) as the ART MATTERS 3 winner in an extremely close decision. Congratulations! With his submitted work Bump from 2021 (spray paint, emulsion and chewing gum on tactile tiles, steel frame, 60 x 45 x 3 cm) and his statement as well as his overall artistic approach/body of work, he not only convinced our jury and we are happy to invite him to participate in an thematic group exhibition in our gallery in Cologne in 2022. We already have a great project in mind – more information to follow soon!
OUR TOP 15
Winner ART MATTERS 3: Stephen Burke
STEPHEN BURKE
Bump, 2021
spray paint, emulsion and chewing gum on tactile tiles, steel frame
60 x 45 x 3 cm
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ART MATTERS 2
Online Group Exhibition
Winner
Patrizia Kränzlein
As the winner of ART MATTERS 2, Patrizia Kränzlein took part in the group exhibition PoP - Painting on Paper in our Cologne gallery from September to October 2021.
Monday, 14 December
To curate our online group exhibition ART MATTERS 2, we launched our second Open Call on 8 November with the aim of finding 15 new artists. Until yesterday, we presented the finalists and their submitted works individually every day at 6pm for a fortnight.
Tonight, we are pleased to announce Patrizia Kränzlein (*1987 in Stuttgart, lives and works in Stuttgart) as the winner of our competition and invite her to participate in a thematic group exhibition at our gallery in Cologne in summer 2021. Her sensitive formal language and approach to the medium of paper have excited us and bring new, interesting aspects to our gallery programme.
It was extremely difficult for us to pick out just one from so many remarkable artistic positions. Therefore, we would like to thank all the artists who submitted their works. It was a great pleasure for us to discover these great artists or to get to know them better!
To learn more about Patrizia Kränzlein and the works of the other 14 finalists – in order of their daily presentation: Birte Horn, Armin Mühsam, Laura Jane Scott, Tonneke Sengers, Viktoria Körösi, Sali Muller, Paul Corvers, Stuart Fineman, Katja Pál, Ute Krafft, Evelyn Snoek, Andrew Clausen, Alex De Bruycker & Yoella Razili – please scroll down or check out our Instagram feed.
PATRIZIA KRÄNZLEIN
PATRIZIA KRÄNZLEIN
untitled, 2020
linoleum ink and graphite on paper (mounted on board), 70 x 50 cm
GROUP PHOTO
Final 15
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ART MATTERS 1
Online Group Exhibition
Winner
Jussi Niva
As the winner of ART MATTERS 1, Jussi Niva took part in the group exhibition Sculptural.Painting. in our Cologne gallery from January to April 2021.
Out of the corona/lockdown situation in March/April – exhibition postponed, gallery closed to the public – our first virtual group exhibition ART MATTERS was created, which could only be viewed online at www.galerie-biesenbach.de and our Instagram and Facebook accounts. Unusual times, new ways!
With an open call launched on Instagram, we spent two weeks looking for new artists and finally selected 15 participants for our group exhibition.
We knew how eclectic this Online Only exhibition could be. But it was precisely the idea of the Open Call that appealed to us: to invite artists from the most diverse backgrounds to apply and submit their work. From this multitude of perspectives and positions, we curated an exhibition that shows a field of tension but also a symbiotic dialogue between the individual artists and artworks. An exhibition that fits the direction and philosophy of the gallery, but which has also brought something new to our programme.
From Sunday, 12 April onwards, one artist was presented with the submitted work every day at 6 pm. On 26 April the winner of our competition was announced and invited to participate in a later exhibition in our gallery space in Cologne. Our choice was Jussi Niva, who will present a selection of his works in the group exhibition "Sculptural.Painting." in January/February 2021.
With works by: Christina Augustesen, Carlos Balbás, Bram Braam, Michael Craik, Alex De Bruycker, Viktoria Körösi, Ute Krafft, Vincent Lo Brutto, Daniel Müller-Jansen, Jussi Niva, PUTPUT, Beverly Rautenberg, Michael Samuels, Jon Thomas & Michael Weißköppel
Winner ART MATTERS 1: Jussi Niva
Jussi Niva
Another Together, 2019
oil on wood, 199 x 53 x 29 cm
GROUP PHOTO
Final 15
