Vernissage

ART has always been the language of the soul, of emotions and one of the most complex forms of culture.

Every artist perceives the world in his own personal way and thus passes on art to his fellow human beings as a way of communication between hearts.

Adrian-Emanuel Dragos felt the magical call of color from a young age, drawing with pencil and watercolor from the age of 3 and discovering gouache a little later.

Alessandro De Luca does not follow any particular style – nor does he want to. He paints and draws everything that lives in his head: figures, abstracts, houses, landscapes – and often characters from history who have always called to him. His thoughts move in an inner chaos, and his challenge is to give this disorder a quiet structure on the canvas, to make harmony visible in the wild play of colours. There his ideas find their rhythm, their clarity, their own logic.

Despite his freedom, his art is unmistakably influenced by classical Italian artists – a signature style that dates back to the Renaissance, sometimes even to Roman and Greek origins.
At the same time, he wants to take the viewer on a journey through time and give them an insight into his life through his works – into the places he has lived, what he has learned, what he loves and what he does not love.

He does not explain his art; he lets it be felt. For his works have no style – they belong solely to the eye and heart of the person who looks at them.

I am a 26-year-old artist from Austria and specialize in black and white acrylic painting. My focus is on motorsport themes, which allow me to revive old childhood dreams and strong emotions in my works.

Through my art, I combine a fascination for speed, technology and dynamics with a timeless aesthetic, which is emphasized by the high-contrast black and white depiction. Each painting tells a story that expresses both nostalgia and a passion for motorsport.

Artistic focus: acrylic painting in black and white, with a special focus on motorsport motifs and their emotional impact.

Andrea Berthel is the creator of the Canned Koi Cosmos, showing the world in a fish can.

Bright PopArt colors and the humorous fish portrayals hide political, philosophical, social or environmental themes. She paints hyper-realistically in oil, sometimes with other media added, like metal leaf, paper, acrylics or ink.

Andrea Berthel is self taught. She learned by copying the great Renaissance and baroque painters like Caravaggio, Tiepolo, Veronese and Jan Davidz de Heem. You can see their influence in her use of light and shadow, how she defines volume and in her hyperrealistic style.

She was born 06.01.1958 in Santiago/Chile, has lived in South Africa, France, Switzerland, the Hague and various German towns and currently resides in Baden-Baden/Germany.

Having experienced various places and their societies around the globe has widened her view upon the world and taught her to find her own individual way to express herself.

My art is an invitation to encounter – others and oneself. In my work, I explore the subtle nuances of human emotions and relationships. I believe that art resonates when it touches something deep within the viewer.

Each of my series is unique – not only in its expression, but also in its emotional origin. They arise from different emotional states, which is reflected in the diversity of style, colour and intensity. Sometimes loud, sometimes quiet. Sometimes clearly contoured, sometimes blurred – just like emotions themselves.

I combine expressive colouring with abstract and figurative elements to convey emotional depth and authenticity. For me, the creative process is an act of self-encounter – a dialogue between inner feelings and outer forms of expression. Through my art, I want to create spaces where viewers can explore their own feelings and thoughts.

Under the acronym AE’89, I have created a platform that represents my artistic vision and my personal journey as a painter. I invite you to discover my works and embark on a personal journey of encounter.

My journey with art began in childhood, where I discovered that painting allowed me to step out of the ordinary and into a magical, colorful world of peace and infinite possibility. It became a form of meditation for me—a way to release my soul and express the deepest parts of myself.

There’s something truly transformative about creating with both heart and hands. Each brushstroke is a dance between energy and emotion, a powerful burst of creativity that brings me peace and joy. Through painting, I experience a beautiful balance: the thrill of creation alongside a deep inner calm. It’s as if my spirit flows onto the canvas, revealing something beyond the material world.

Art is my language, and through it, I speak directly from my soul. When someone connects with one of my pieces and feels the energy I’ve poured into it, it’s more than just sharing beauty—it’s about offering them a piece of the inspiration that has shaped my life. Knowing that my art can spark joy, reflection, and connection in others is the reason I embraced the path of an artist.

Benjamin Burkard’s paintings are characterised by the elaboration of this depth space, with representational objects, especially people and animals, being worked out from the abstract colourfulness.

The young artist, who also studied biology, explores his compositions as a visual narrative that is ready to comment on society and humanity through his characteristic use of historical references, pixel elements and the diffusion of faces.

Burkard’s works are already part of a large number of private and public collections. Some of his works are currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in Hünfeld.

The contemporary French artist Cédric Bouteiller creates work that is deeply rooted in materiality, gesture and urban energy. His work combines abstraction, graffiti, collage and mixed media, exploring the tension between chaos and harmony, instinct and construction.

Through aluminium, Plexiglas, demolished walls or repurposed supports, he examines traces, movement and the memory of gesture. Each work becomes a space of vibration, in which colour, the repetition of words and the layering of materials express a sensitive and committed artistic exploration.

His approach is shaped by a desire to put people back at the centre, celebrating emotion, life energy and creative power as responses to a world saturated with negativity.

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Dr. med. univ. Daniel Josef Maier is a visual artist whose career began not at an art academy, but in medicine. While studying medicine, he realised that his true calling lay not in healing bodies, but in the creative power of art – in exploring what moves people at their core.

A moment of inner emptiness gave rise to an artistic practice that combines discipline, empathy and deep human understanding with expressiveness and aesthetic clarity. Since 2020, Maier has been working entirely as a self-taught artist – drawing, painting and exhibiting – with an uncompromising commitment to depth, authenticity and independence.

His art does not revolve around the artist himself, but opens up spaces for responsibility, communication and transformation. Each work invites us to look deeper, question truths and think beyond the boundaries of the familiar – an invitation to feel again in a fast-paced world.

Danny Frede works at the interface between digital imagery and analogue painting: professionally digital, fast and precise, deliberately decelerated and handmade in his art. Serial grids of rectangles function as ‘analogue pixels’: carved out, filled with colour and freed from their smooth, high-gloss surface, they become tangible and physical.

His works combine digital image logic with materiality and draw on art-historical references without quoting them, but rather transferring them into a contemporary visual horizon.

I am an abstract artist who expresses emotions, inner processes and personal perceptions in multi-layered visual worlds. By combining acrylic and oil paints, resin, wood, textural materials and experimental elements such as aluminium foil, I create works with intense tactility, depth and tension.

My painting is intuitive, process-oriented and characterised by the interplay between control and letting go. Each painting is an authentic expression of my inner dialogue – a visual translation of emotion, movement and energy.

Since 2020, I have been intensively devoted to abstract painting and have developed an independent, experimental visual language. In my studio, I create free mixed-media works that come to life through layers, textures and material contrasts. The creative process is at the centre – the conscious exploration of structures, colour tones and forms of expression.

Jiny Lan (born in Xiuyan, China, in 1970) is a German-Chinese conceptual artist who has lived and worked in Germany since the mid-1990s. She studied at the China Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou and is co-founder of the feminist artists’ collective ‘Bald Girls,’ which was the first to make feminist positions visible in art in China.

In her multi-layered work – ranging from painting to performance and installation to multimedia projects – she combines influences from East and West and moves confidently between figuration and abstraction, reality and imagination, criticism and humour.

Jiny Lan addresses central social issues such as censorship, authoritarianism, democracy, human rights, sexism, racism, war and migration, translating them into powerful, often subversive visual worlds.

With exhibitions in Europe and China and as the namesake of an art foundation established in Düsseldorf in 2025, she is now considered one of the most important voices of the feminist avant-garde in contemporary art.

Jörg Minrath grew up in a family of artists in Cologne; colours, shapes and materials continue to influence his work to this day. Inspired by artists such as Mark Rothko, Gerhard Richter, Günther Uecker and Jackson Pollock, his visual language developed further during stays in France.

He is known for his mostly square structural paintings in various formats and colour schemes, featuring special materials, unusual surfaces and an expressive yet controlled use of colour. In addition to large-format works, he also creates miniatures and collages in which he takes up current trends and develops them further.

Larissa Bechthold lives in Düsseldorf, where she worked as a solicitor for many years. In the midst of the structured world of law, art developed into her conscious contrast medium – a space in which intuition, freedom and personal expression set the direction. Out of this tension, the desire for transformation shaped an independent artistic path characterised by a love of experimentation and spontaneity.

Her works arise from an impulsive interplay of material, structure and intense colour accents. Each composition grows out of a moment of inner movement, gaining intensity in the creative process, condensing layer by layer on the canvas and unfolding its final presence there as an artistic statement. The results are powerful, vibrant pictorial spaces that convey energy, emotion and depth. Her works reflect an ongoing dialogue between control and letting go – a tension that makes her artistic signature unmistakable and charges it with unmistakable authenticity.

Lena Blaha (née Chekonina), born in 1978 in the Ukraine (Chernowitz) and grew up in Mongolia for the first 8 years of her life, has lived and worked in Mainz since 2002. Many journeys and long stays in other countries have strongly influenced her visual language and the content of her pictures.

Her motifs are full of energy and vibrancy. “For me, there is nothing better than making people happy with my passion.”
Her artistic work focuses on strong color contrasts, extreme cropping or strongly colored shadows. The juxtaposition of complementary colors, such as red and green, brings tension and power to her paintings. Rough brushstrokes and the random flow of color should remain visible in the works.

The power of color: “Color does not exist for itself, not outside in the world, but within us.” (Piet Mondrian)

Each of her paintings reflects a small piece of the place or people she has been to and met on her travels. Her works are as diverse and rich in contrast as life itself and yet refuse to be categorized.

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As an artist, I create stories that accompany each and every one of us through our everyday lives. I have made it my mission to make life a little more beautiful through my art, and I believe in what I do! My work focuses on attention to detail and the art of making the world a little more colourful.

I have been passionate about painting since childhood. My focus is on acrylic painting, mainly on large-format, sometimes unusual, painting supports. In my large-format paintings, which range between abstraction and realistic abstraction, I explore the boundaries of perception and often express unexpected combinations and plays of colour. My portfolio also includes striking pop art steel paintings that bridge the gap between traditional painting and modern sculpture.

Manic stands for expressive wall art, wine racks and tables that combine natural materials with modern design techniques.

The combination of solid wood, epoxy resin and textured surfaces with a concrete look creates unique compositions with depth, contrast and exciting light reflections. Each piece is a handmade, one-of-a-kind item that combines natural structures with contemporary design.

The focus is on modern wall art that not only complements rooms, but also consciously shapes and defines them. Material aesthetics, surface structure and precise craftsmanship play a central role in this.

In addition to wall art, Manic also creates exclusive designer tables made of wood and epoxy resin, which transfer the concept of material, form and individuality to furniture.

Martina Hamrik, born in 1967 in Kenzingen near Freiburg, develops her own unique visual language combining painting, drawing and movement. Her work focuses on people in action: strength, dynamism and the tension between stillness and movement.

With her characteristic looping technique, she translates movement sequences into rhythmic lines and powerful brushstrokes, creating a dialogue between figures and space. She works predominantly with acrylic on canvas; layers create a pronounced depth effect, even a sculptural presence.

Melanie Lengowski, born in 1983, lives and works in Zwickau. Her artistic journey has taken her beyond the boundaries of traditional painting. She
has developed a passion for collages and three-dimensional assemblages, which make her works unique. Melanie deliberately uses natural materials such as wood and natural fibres, combining them with a dynamic mixture of acrylics and radiant gold and silver colours. Her artistic approach is direct and hands-on, which further enhances the intense expression of her visions.

At the heart of her art is the search for visual balance. Her works embody a symmetry that is both aesthetically pleasing and reflects a deep sense of balance between humans and the environment. Melanie’s art is not only an expression of vitality and radiance, but also a clear commitment to sustainability.

Born in Neustadt an der Weinstraße in the summer of 1970, Michel Friess developed an interest in art from a young age, particularly in street art. By the age of 16, he was already out and about on his skateboard as a graffiti artist, and after a long hiatus, he devoted himself entirely to Pop Art in 2008. Shortly afterwards, he made his entry into the professional art world with portrait works of prominent figures. Some of his works now fetch over 30,000 euros at auctions.

Michel Friess creates his outstanding and elaborate one-off pieces entirely by hand in his studio in Kaiserslautern, in south-west Germany. His wife Mel assists him. The attention to detail is unmistakable. His paintings tell stories; they captivate the viewer and their thoughts, and one constantly discovers something new within them. His works are created using complex techniques such as painting, spray cans, hand screen-printing, paint rollers, wild splashes of paint, as well as the use of iconic newspapers, posters and rare comic books… all of which make every artwork absolutely unique.

Nil Praso is an abstract artist whose work unfolds through layered structures and flowing energy. Guided by intuition and presence, she creates paintings that hold depth, movement, and a quiet sense of transformation.

Her artistic process is meditative and organic. Layers are built, dissolved, and reshaped, allowing forms and textures to emerge naturally. This continual becoming reflects an inner journey – one of releasing old patterns, embracing change, and opening space for growth and renewal.

Art, in her practice, is a vessel for inner healing and conscious evolution. The flowing energy within her works speaks of vitality, interconnectedness, and the subtle rhythms of life. Her paintings do not seek to define meaning; instead, they invite contemplation and personal resonance.

Each work offers a space of stillness and movement at once – a visual landscape where viewers are encouraged to slow down, feel, and reconnect with their own inner transformation.

Patrizia Casagranda combines classical portrait tradition with a clear, contemporary visual language. Her ‘Sculptural Dot Paintings’ are created from a three-dimensional dot grid and move between painting and relief.

In terms of content, iconic figures from art history encounter women from everyday life and current social contexts. She often works with recycled materials such as cardboard, jute sacks or textiles; the relief-like surfaces are created in a complex layering process.

Koenemann’s paintings are wild, regardless of whether he is outside in space or inside the human soul. He seeks a balance between the violent, even furious gestures of the post-war generation, of wounded painter maniacs such as Pollock or Hartung, and the patient search for the figure, for great symmetries and harmonies that often only emerge (or re-emerge) during the working process.

In recent years, Ralf Koenemann, who previously only worked in very large formats, has expanded his palette to include smaller canvas formats and editions with a unique character.

Raphael Rack is a German artist known for his unique and creative works. His art encompasses various media and styles, often experimenting with colours and shapes to create emotional and visual experiences.

Rack has made a name for himself in the contemporary art scene, attracting the interest of art lovers and critics alike with his innovative approaches and profound themes.

His works often reflect personal and social issues, making them both appealing and thought-provoking.

An art series for positivity and success The art series ‘Smile to Life’ stands for an inspiring message of positive thinking. Each picture in this series serves as a source of motivation for the viewer, supporting them in their everyday life and encouraging them to achieve their goals.

The works are kept in a square format, which represents structure and order in life. However, each of these squares also contains a round smile, which symbolises positive transformation and flexibility of mind.

This combination shows that with the right attitude, anything is possible – you can even turn a square into a circle.

Lakis Sgouridis is a pop art artist from Basel and founder of the Basler Kunstmeile.

His art moves between urban reality and iconic imagery – inspired by pop culture, brands, superheroes and classical elements.

Born in Basel in 1970 to Greek-Spanish parents, Sgouridis combines different worlds and stories. Without formal art training, but with a strong creative drive, he developed his own style over the years. He works with a variety of materials such as metal, canvas, acrylic glass, epoxy resin and historical baroque frames.

His works are pop art with character – humorous, powerful and never arbitrary.
In 2024, he initiated the Basel Art Mile: a freely accessible art space in the public urban space that today brings together over 30 artists. Not as a gallery, but as a movement.

For Sgouridis, art is not an object, but a state of being – visible where you least expect it.

The painter and sculptor Stefanie von Quast devotes her art almost exclusively to people and their relationships. She conveys the way in which they are connected through body language and posture – subtle expressions of interpersonal resonance.

Stefanie von Quast discovered her passion for the visual arts early in her childhood. She began painting and modelling at an early age, which opened up an artistic path characterised by intensive learning and continuous development. She completed studies in painting and drawing and obtained a diploma in graphic design. She expanded her artistic training to include sculpture and bronze casting. Today, she uses different techniques and materials as a creative challenge to shape the transition between painting and sculpture.

Torsten Volb was born in Rhineland-Palatinate in 1975 and has been drawing since childhood. For a long time, his passion was known only to his close circle of family and friends. Following a stroke in 2011, he was forced to take an extended break due to the impairment of the right side of his body.

In 2023, he returned to painting – more motivated than ever before. He works mainly with pastels and does not adhere to any fixed style, but paints whatever moves him at that moment. His art is intended to inspire viewers to reflect and, at the same time, serves as a balance to everyday life.

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