kluge kim

For twenty-one years I have been active as a freelance artist. I studied with Walter Dahn at the HBK in Braunschweig and graduated with distinction from him. Of course I inevitably had contact with his teacher Joseph Beuys. At that time it was not yet clear to me what significance Beuys would have for my artistic career today. For me, everything began with classical painting until the beginning of my studies. I oriented myself on old masterpieces of classical modernism. Kandinsky, Miró, Picasso... all styles were tried out and transferred to my own themes, out of enthusiasm for other works of art and other artists*. I stayed with surrealism for a while. Dali was my great role model as a contemporary artist. I was 18 years old and began to paint my dreams in the style of Dali. Then it became too narrow for me with this technique and I migrated to expressionism. That was when I was still at school. My art teacher loved me as long as I painted surrealistically. After graduating from high school I took a year off and painted daily. Figurative. Still life. Among them bananas with toilet paper in all variations. Professionally, I was in a real conflict. Studying art was not my declared goal. I did not want to become an artist and not be one. I struggled with the need to be artistically active all my life. I knew that most of the artists in our society are economically miserable. Nevertheless, the contemplation and creation of art was always a „nutrient“ for me, as Beuys once aptly put it. „I‘m not crazy enough to study art,“ I thought. I was also thinking about my needs for security, family, belonging, normality. Today I realize that there are very different characters among artists. That creating art is an important gift that can inspire our world or even make us think. As Beuys put it „I think with my knee“, I saw my task for me in acting with respect for every life on this earth with prudence. When we get a skill in our hands, we are called upon to use it responsibly. Walter Dahn gave me decisive impulses during my studies. One of them was to let go of the techniques of the other masters and to find suitable material for impressions/impulses that I receive. The revolution of Beuys is that we stop selling art as an imitation of other techniques. Art is so much more than that. Other artists* like Rebecca Horn or Eva Hesse occupied me in a special way. Their highly sensitive sculptures. Next to them Marina Abramovic´ whose work also deals with borders and the crossing of borders. How far can we go with ourselves? I have always been interested in the dissolution of boundaries and the subjective close-up of impressions and have embarked on a long search for suitable forms. I followed my impulses to try out everything. Photographically, painterly and graphically. Of course I also followed the traces of Mark Rothko, who has left a lasting impression on me with his transcendental work. Gerhard Richter is also contemporary testimony to the depth that results from the real knowledge of concrete representation. There is a common denominator in all my works. The preoccupation with structural things. „Looking behind it“ is always close to my heart. This is also expressed in my earlier work group „Movements“ (acrylic painting) and the photographic works „NO ONE“ (photographic work). The „Cloneflowers“ (digital work) are about observing what happens when a form is reproduced manually on the computer and the sum of the clone forms appears as a new form. It is about precision and perfection, about structural observations of our economy and society. Next to this is the big question of what truth is. The chaos theory was very important to me during my studies. Also philosophers like Kant. Until 2016, I had not yet found an exact answer as to where the journey was actually going. It was a long search time. I wanted to find the go the other way around. Not to abstract a tree beyond recognition, but to concretise my perception of my surroundings. Today I call this genre „sensitivism“. We live in a new age. Have realized, at the latest in these times of pandemic and climate change, that we can no longer get ahead with „higher, faster, further“ and our „ego culture“. We are destroying our planet because we prefer to orient ourselves towards dominant leaders. It is the age of „noise“ vibrating from every loudspeaker in the wholesale and retail trade, distracting and manipulating us. Today I counter this with the silence of my meditative artistic process. Kim Kluge 2020 KIM KLUGE Visual artist – Conceptual art Master class student of W.Dahn (J.Beuys student) VITA – EXHIBITIONS GALLERIES / ART TRADE Since 2020 International representation SINGULART.COM Headquarters Paris, France Since 2020 International representation FRIENDMADE.FM Headquarters Bonn, Germany Since 2019 ARTWORKS.ART International representation HeadquartersBasel, Switzerland 2018 -2019 UPDATE GALLERY HeadquartersBonn, Germany 2017 Pixunique Online Gallery Düsseldorf 2007 Qyou Online Gallery Cologne PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS Collection A.Rauen, Collection W.Schön, Collection R.Wiemann, Collection P.Thomy, Collection Volvo Köln Collection Nord LB, Hannover, , Collection K.Hasemann, Collection Cosi, Collection M.Sandschulte AWARDS 1999 Award for special artistic achievement as a Master Student with Walter Dahn VITA 2020 Preparation for an international Carreer 2019 Foundation of the Art and Economy Initiative in Cooperation with Frank H. Wilhelmi and Ralf Wiemann Since 2019 Partnership Odem Investing Frank H. Wilhelmi Since 2018 Partnership Atmospheric-Art GmbH, Ralf-Wiemann 2019 Panel discussion at Atmospheric-Art GmbH on the topic of „Human Art“ with Frank H. Wilhelmi (Founder Odem Investing, Founder Businessangels AG and tree project with Walter Dahn and Johannes Stüttgen; since 1989) and Kim Kluge, and Ralf Wiemann, CEO of the Plato Academie GmbH and co-partner and advisory board of Atmospheric-Art GmbH. Since 2019 BBK Bonn.Rhein-Sieg e.V. Election as first chairperson Since 2019 Membership Bonner Kunstverein Since 2006 Membership RAD München Artists Association 1999 Diploma Fine Art, HBK Braunschweig, Germany Prof. Walter Dahn (Student of Joseph Beuys) 1999 Master Degree Fine Art with Prof. Walter Dahn HBK Braunschweig, Germany 1993-199 Sudy of Fine Arts HBK Braunschweig, Germany 1968 Born in Hannover, Germany GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2020 Inauguration on the occasion of Beethovenfest2020Frauenmuseum „Anima and Animus – Interplay of hardcore and harmony“ 2019 Art Swiss Expo ZürichArtbox 2017 „Perfect Life“Die Kunststation Bonn 2015 “Cloneflowers”Lohmart Halle Lohmar 2011 »Yellow« Group Exhibition im Posttower Bonn, FJK Förderverein für junge Kunst 2011 „Drawings” Bonnerkunstschule Galerie 2010 “Drawings” Bonnerkunstschule Galerie 2009 »Junge sterne« RKG (Mercedes) 2009 »Coloursred« FJK Förderverein für junge Kunst 2012 “Drawings” Bonnerkunstschule Gallery 2011 »Yellow« Group Exhibition im Posttower Bonn, FJK Förderverein für junge Kunst 2011 „Drawings” Bonnerkunstschule Gallery 2010 “Drawings” Bonnerkunstschule Gallery 2009 »Junge sterne« RKG (Mercedes) 2009 »Coloursred« FJK Förderverein für junge Kunst 1997 Galerie VOXXX, Chemnitz, Group Exhibition withWalter Dahn 1996 »The esiestthingtogrow in a gardenistired« Galerie Peters-Barenbrock, Braunschweig Group Exhibition with Walter Dahn 1995 »Extra«, Galerie Art und Arche Schloss Wendhausen, Braunschweig, Group Exhibition withB. Bouchon SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2018 „Konkret Abstrakt“ Update Gallery Presentation of the catalog to the Federal ChancellorAngela Merkel 2016 “Comparé à” Brotfabrik Bonn Sponsoring Wolf Schön 2015 “Comparé à” Brotfabrik Bonn Solo Exhibition Sponsoring Wolf Schön 2015 “Comparé à” Rubenswerkstatt Wuppertal 2012 “Movements”Bonnerkunstschule Galerie Close cooperation with Wolf Schön, art curator, art historian and former journalist of WDR Cologne 2012 “Drawings”Bonnerkunstschule Galerie 2009 »Spätzünderneueröffnung« Praxis Marcela Thomys 2009 »Orientierungsräume« Remigiuskirche 2009 »Kunstliebe« Go 27 2009 »Movements« Apentia München Solo Exhibition 2008 »Movements« Siemens Köln Solo Exhibition 2007/08 »Movements« BSI Bonn 2005 »Scotland yards« Cosi Restaurant Bonn Solo Exhibition. Ankauf der gesamten Ausstellung in die Collection Cosi 2005 »Noone« La Linea Galerie VOLVO Köln, Sponsoring Ingo Fischer, Artplace Gallery The exhibition was arranged by the artist Michael Burges. 1994 »eye works«, Bielefeld, Eye Works Optik, 1994 »Novum« Architekturbüro Novo, Braunschweig, CURRENT TOPIC: TRUE COLORS – SYNÄSTHETIC PORTRAITS Colors are colors. They do not know any evaluation. No too old or too young, no too big or too small, no too good or too bad. A change of perspective on color enables us to change the perspective on our evaluation models. Since 2015 I have been dealing with the synaesthetics of colors and human traits. In 2016 there was a first exhibition on the topic. Traits of public figures expressed in color. The images seem like codes for scans. I began to assign colors to people. I intensively dealt with the meaning of color and what it means universally and across all cultures. With sky blue we associate the vastness of the sky. Green stands for the plant world. Significant are growth and hope. Red indicates an exuberant amount of energy. Culturally, we divide all areas of our life into positive and negative. We are used to evaluation and judgement. But the color itself does not know any evaluation. Red is simply red. Yellow is yellow. I may like these colors or not. From this perspective and with this basic attitude I portray people in colors. The renunciation of a concrete representation of age and gender determines my way of working. There are no wrinkles and no clues as to whether he or she is pretty or ugly according to our understanding of aesthetics. When perceiving a person, my concentration is on what his or her essence radiates. This is the area I cannot completely put into words where art begins. I translate my perception into colors. Astonishing is the result of an experiment 2016, in which I did not announce the names of the people before, but distributed them on pieces of paper so that visitors to the exhibition could assign the pictures to the names. The hit rate was eighty percent. Since the beginning of 2019 there is an important addition. With the highly sensitive felt I finally succeed in harmonizing material and content. Felt is not only to be seen like a second skin, it underlines the warming and connecting aspect of the colors. Moreover, felt is the most original material in the history of mankind. One of the first materials from which clothing was made. Felt creates a breeding ground ¬¬for social warmth. Those portrayed have an effect on their surroundings, at best they inspire the viewer. In the age of digital transformation, I set a counterpoint to our fast-moving times with these works. Every person is unique and every person is beautiful, no matter if old or young, with or without wrinkles. Growth cannot be forced. Growth is a natural aspect of our life. I try to look at people in their essence, as far as it is possible through my subjective glasses. In my opinion, artistic creation and social development are firmly interwoven. The decisive factor is not the product art, but the artistic process and the statement behind the work. Art means change of perspective. Transformational economic processes contain abstraction capabilities. Abstraction works in both directions. The connection is my core theme and communication is essential for art and for our society. I do not design my prices according to my degree of fame, but according to the degree of fame of the people portrayed. It is a symbolic prize. With a value of for example 77000 EUR I acknowledge my work and that of the portrayed persons. The prize also stands for an artistic process lasting more than 20 years. For the first time I open myself to the international market and offer my works on international platforms such as SINGULART or ARTWORKS.ART, FRIENDMADE AND ARTID. So far I have not applied for awards and honors because I am convinced that competition and artistic creation is a contradiction in terms. However, I have now come to realize that a rigid attitude in this regard will not get me anywhere if I want to reach many people. Kim Kluge 2020