Interview
Alexandra Huelbach
Alexandra was born in Hilden in 1969. She lives and works in Cologne since 1991. Her studies include the study of law at the University of Cologne (1989- 98). In between she worked and studied in Paris in 1992/93 for 7 months and in South Africa in 1998 for 4 months where she studied the art of those countries.
From 2000 to 2003 she participated art classes at the Cologne Painting School and later (2009- 2012) she learned to paint nude studies and she received painting classes in abstract art with Gaby Ludwig.
She has had numerous exhibitions since 2004. Her work has sold worldwide in Germany, Spain, Netherlands, USA, France, Austria and Switzerland.
Her recent exhibitions include the Gallery Weekend Berlin (solo 2022), Art Berlin -Gallery MALINA ( solo-2023), Diversity- solo exhibition 2022; and the following group exhibitions: Gallery Room 8 , Cologne Jan. Edition, Artconnection Stiftung Horbach ; Artfestival Cologne ; “The Power of love at kat. Kunstakademie Schwerte (all 2023).
Other international exhibitions include Gallery Casa del Arte Palma; Artbox Project New York; Gallery Jonathan Schutz Miami; Art Basel. She is represented by Artrewards, Oslo; Gallery Malina, Berlin; Saatchiart.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“In 1990 I started a private art course in addition to my law studies. I was looking for a way to express my thoughts and feelings and found it in painting. I quickly realized that art is also a craft and an eternal process of learning, frustration and happiness. My travels abroad to Paris and Cape Town gave me the opportunity to study foreign art and nature, the beauty of light and the magic of colors. I have experimented in many ways, with realistic drawing, portraiture and abstract painting using a variety of materials. It took me a long time to find myself.”
What inspires you?
“I am inspired by the beauty and immensity of nature with its colors, the dichotomy of human relationships between love and hate. I go through the world with my eyes open and can be touched by the little things in everyday life, like the eyes of children when they see a bubble burst. Often my pictures come to me in my dreams, I jot them down in bed and bring them to my studio.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“My themes are varied; I did a series on the events surrounding the death of G. Floyd and the Black
Lives Matter movement, in which I dealt artistically with racism. The biggest series deals with the
pollution of the oceans and the protection and beauty of our planet. Water is a big theme and the
power of colour. I want to stir things up and make people aware of what is important. I like to agree
with Antoine de St Excupéry: ‘You can only see well with your heart’.”
“My trips abroad in Paris and Cape Town have given me the opportunity to study foreign art and nature, the beauty of light and the magic of colors.”
How would you describe your work?
“‘I am a wanderer’. My art is like my nature. I am a bit restless and always looking for something new. So I am always trying something new. I work in different styles and materials, but they all have one thing in common; my works are always multi-layered, transparent, with many levels. My works require an active viewer, my effort is that my works are not obvious, the complexity of the works requires a close look and a ‘feeling inside’, a view from different block angles.
The view needs to be sharpened each time so that the picture opens up to the viewer. But it also has something to do with ones own being, and the reflections on the surface of the Plexiglas or the mirror-like resins draw the viewer into the work, they become part of it. And so everyone perceives the painting differently.”
Which artists influence you most?
“The works of Gerhard Richter, whose variety and strong expression I admire, but also many works of Peter Zimmermann and Mark Rothko would have to be considered as influential in my creative process. The passion of Antoine de St Excuperý and the courage, love and passion for art of Franz and Maria Marc.”
What is your creative process like?
“‘Abstract landscape painting’. Although I give a title to many of my abstract works, for me it is more of a subtext - whoever looks at my paintings should analyses and feel the work for themselves. The abstraction should show the essence of what I see or feel. It can also be based on something realistic, for example the sea - I do not paint waves or water, I paint what it is to me, what it stands for: summer, freedom, relaxation, endless space.
The sky is not just blue and clouds, but power, the power to give us life through sun and water and air. I paint the feeling, the gratitude and the happiness that I feel and sometimes the ‘anger’ and the power that a storm reveals to us. I am not the conductor, I do not interpret, I create like a composer something that triggers it in me. The creative process is at least as important as the finished work.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“The role of an artist is not fixed like that of a baker or a teacher: each artist will interpret his role differently: some use art to accuse or expose - others to give pleasure, or both. Art can be a ‘sword’ like literature, but it can also build bridges and tear down walls.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“Last year I had my first solo exhibition at Gallery Weekend Berlin and this year in October I will have a solo exhibition at Gallery Malina during Art Berlin. In 2022, I really enjoyed the exhibition of Isamu Noguchi and Gerhard Richter at Museum Ludwig.”
