Christa Hillekamp
born in Cologne, Germany
1977 - 1980 Studied social work in Bremen, Germany.
1980 - 1983 Free lanced artist in Cipiére, Côte d´azur, France.
1983 - 1991 Scenery builder in Theatre Fey, Lübeck, Germany.
Special work in murals, Trompe l´oeil, Fresco painting
1992 - 1994 Social worker in Prison Lübeck. Monitor for art courses with prisoners.
since 1995 Free lanced artist in Nerja, Andalucia, Spain.
Art and Therapie with delinquent teenagers. Monitor for art courses.
Artist statement
My paintings are expressions of emotional, acoustic and visual snapshots that move me and create inner images.
They are subjective impressions, the way I experience myself and this world when travelling and meeting people from other cultures.
Vast inhospitable landscapes - like deserts - in which human life unexpectedly appears, fascinate me.
But I am also preoccupied with the past and buried things - inner deserts - in people in general. Everything finds a way, breaks through superimposed layers to show itself shyly or strongly. I express this in landscape pictures and pictures of people.
In fact, over the years it has become apparent that certain themes keep coming up.
In a certain sense, series of paintings have emerged that cannot necessarily be placed in a coherent period in time, but whose themes will probably accompany me throughout my life.
They are subjective impressions, the way I experience myself and this world when travelling and meeting people from other cultures.
Vast inhospitable landscapes - like deserts - in which human life unexpectedly appears, fascinate me.
But I am also preoccupied with the past and buried things - inner deserts - in people in general. Everything finds a way, breaks through superimposed layers to show itself shyly or strongly. I express this in landscape pictures and pictures of people.
In fact, over the years it has become apparent that certain themes keep coming up.
In a certain sense, series of paintings have emerged that cannot necessarily be placed in a coherent period in time, but whose themes will probably accompany me throughout my life.
Working in my Studio
Experimenting with different materials on canvas or wood panels is always a powerful, tension-filled act for me.
During the whole period until the painting is finished, I am in an energetic exchange with my work. It gives and takes.
The result itself is not the most important thing, but the space and time of finding the picture. This process-oriented way of working opens up unimagined creative freedom for me time and again.
In my workshop there are many jars, bottles and boxes in small drawers and shelves, containing various sands, ashes, pigments, inks, found pieces of rust, metal shavings, mother-of-pearl and many other "collected treasures" that I use subtly or openly in my paintings.
I like to mix most of the colours and structural pastes (pigments, plaster, marble powder, sand ...)myself, so that I can always determine the desired consistency.
During the whole period until the painting is finished, I am in an energetic exchange with my work. It gives and takes.
The result itself is not the most important thing, but the space and time of finding the picture. This process-oriented way of working opens up unimagined creative freedom for me time and again.
In my workshop there are many jars, bottles and boxes in small drawers and shelves, containing various sands, ashes, pigments, inks, found pieces of rust, metal shavings, mother-of-pearl and many other "collected treasures" that I use subtly or openly in my paintings.
I like to mix most of the colours and structural pastes (pigments, plaster, marble powder, sand ...)myself, so that I can always determine the desired consistency.