Our focus here is primarily on works created during our first years together in Leipzig, between 2014 and 2020. These works explore the broad field of the architecture of nature. At their centre stands the tree, chosen as a representative living being that embodies the very structure of life.
In 2017, we decided to work together as an artist duo.
Looking back, we recognize how our individual artistic practices profoundly influenced one another through our close collaboration, particularly during the early years of our partnership. This mutual exchange transformed each of our approaches in significant ways.
Our shared conviction that life is art and art is life (cf. Joseph Beuys) forms the foundation of our work. We understand artistic practice as a natural, socio-evolutionary process. It therefore seems equally natural that, over the following years, our work evolved once again: despite our continued close collaboration, our individual artistic voices gradually sought new forms of expression. Having absorbed the creative impulses generated through our partnership, each developed toward greater independence, clarity, and maturity.
The understanding that life depends upon a healthy balance between individuality and social cooperation is equally reflected in art. This idea was prominently addressed at documenta fifteen in 2022, although its intended impact was unfortunately overshadowed by the antisemitism controversy that dominated public attention.
Independently of one another, we both moved to Leipzig in 2012, a city renowned as a centre of contemporary figurative painting. The artistic legacy of both the Old and the New Leipzig School continues to shape the local art scene, influencing artists, collectors, and institutions alike. Its international reputation is undeniable. Curiously, however, our own artistic development remained largely unaffected by these prevailing tendencies.
Until 2018, my work was represented by a gallery at the Leipzig Spinnerei. When our collaboration came to an end, it marked a significant turning point. Exhibitions such as HELGE MACHT FEUER (2013) and DAS URLICHT (2014), which were courageously presented and supported by the former Queen Anne Gallery, have found no comparable platform here since.
Project 2014 – DAS URLICHT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbRXfffLUcQ
We spend much of our time travelling—through forests as well as regions marked by political conflict. The paintings created in the studio process these lived experiences and transform them into visual form. A prominent example is our monumental collaborative work EINSKOMMAFÜNFGRAD (One Point Five Degrees, 260 × 810 cm), completed in 2023. It is presented separately on our homepage under the section 1.5° History Painting.
