Anne Wölk (born 1982) is a German painter who lives and works in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. She is best known for her paintings of romantic starscapes and use of popular culture and science fiction imagery that hint at ideas of a cosmic "life beyond Earth".

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

and

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

are key themes in her work, and she is well regarded among contemporary conceptual and figurative artists in Berlin.

Early life and education

Wölk was born in 1982 and was raised in

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

, in former

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. Jena was the center for

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

technology and lasers in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). Deciding from age 15 to become a painter, she developed interest in space landscapes from the Jena Planetarium's cosmic shows of night sky simulations. Her work is now heavily informed by

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

movies and books, such as

Neuromancer ''Neuromancer'' is a 1984 science fiction novel by American-Canadian author William Gibson. Set in a near-future dystopia, the narrative follows Case, a computer hacker enlisted into a crew by a powerful artificial intelligence and a traumatis ...

(1984) by

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...

, which predicts an inhabitable

cyberspace Cyberspace is an interconnected digital environment. It is a type of virtual world popularized with the rise of the Internet. The term entered popular culture from science fiction and the arts but is now used by technology strategists, security ...

. Her grandfather encouraged her to draw from a young age and introduced her to western and eastern European influences, as he came from East-Prussian

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

, modern-day

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

. Being raised in a generation of political and cultural division encouraged Wölk to imagine alternate realities. Her imagined space realities recall dreams of freedom experienced by her family members in Germany. Wölk earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Fine Arts Burg Giebichenstein Halle, Germany, in 2004. In 2006, she studied at Chelsea College of Fine Art and Design, London, UK, before returning to Germany. In 2007, she graduated from

Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin Weißensee (German: ''white lake'') may refer to: Places * Weissensee (Berlin), a district of Berlin *Weißensee, Thuringia, a town in Thuringia, Germany * Weissensee, Austria, a municipality in Carinthia, Austria * Weissensee (Carinthia), a lake i ...

, Germany, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. By 2009, Wölk had earned a Master in Fine Arts from The

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Wölk's career took a surprising kick-start at the age of 24 when her painting ''Dog Girl'' (2006) was purchased by the Elgiz Museum and shown alongside well-established artists such as

Cindy Sherman Cynthia Morris Sherman (born January 19, 1954) is an American artist whose work consists primarily of photographic self-portraits, depicting herself in many different contexts and as various imagined characters. Her breakthrough work is often co ...

Tracey Emin Dame Tracey Karima Emin (; born 3 July 1963) is an English artist known for autobiographical and confessional artwork. She produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, Neon lighting, neon text ...

and

Sarah Morris Sarah Morris (born 20 June 1967 in Sevenoaks, Kent, England) is an American and British artist. She lives in New York City in the United States. Personal life and education Morris was born in Sevenoaks, Kent, in south-east England, on 20 Ju ...

. Wölk is embedded in the

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

scene of

while selling, exhibiting and working internationally.

Work

Wölk works primarily in oil paints while also employing mixed media with acrylics and aerosol. Her paintings are reminiscent of nocturnal landscapes and incorporate visual features of

films. Her work captures cinematic landscapes with visually multilayered narrations and a fantastical interpretation of nature. Her use of birch trees is informed by the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n meaning for the tree as a symbol of virginal beauty, which allows her to play with illusions and representations of reality. Her sense of space creates an illusion of infinity through an impression of space travel or life beyond Earth. Wölk's pieces are also strongly symbolic of the future of science and technology, using information from the advances in satellite and camera technology. Her series ''Planet Spheres'', 2019, are three-dimensional paintings made with acrylic paint and styrofoam. These works are clear representations of astronomical influence, mirroring the shape of globes, the 360-degree view invites an interaction of telescopic imagery. Her most recent series ''Nebulae'', 2020, is inspired by the aesthetic construction of gasses like

helium Helium (from ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert gas, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is ...

and

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

, combined to give birth to

interstellar dust Cosmic dustalso called extraterrestrial dust, space dust, or star dustis dust that occurs in outer space or has fallen onto Earth. Most cosmic dust particles measure between a few molecules and , such as micrometeoroids (30 μm). Cosmic dust can ...

. The vastness of cosmic space in her work creates an unimaginable distance between human life and the possibility of "life beyond Earth". While her series ''Starscapes'', 2018–2010, pushed for a visual reality of what extraterrestrial colonies could look like: a lifestyle of starry skies,

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...

lighting and cinematic embrace. Wölk's works are inspired by the astronomical works of Russell Crotty, as seen in her work ''Second Earth'', 2019, (40 cm sphere, Acrylic on Styrofoam). The hyperrealistic night sky drawings of

Vija Celmins Vija Celmins ( ;Hilarie M. Sheets and Randy Kennedy (September 24, 2015)''New York Times''. ; ; born October 25, 1938) is a Latvian American visual artist best known for photo-realistic paintings and drawings of natural environments and phenomen ...

appear to inspire Wölk's realm in the use of telescopic space imagery.

Aert van der Neer Aert van der Neer, or Aernout or Artus ( – 9 November 1677), was a landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, who specialized in small night scenes lit only by moonlight and fires, and snowy winter landscapes, both often looking down a canal ...

's delicate nocturnal landscapes have informed Wölk's use of light in a very traditional sense, as seen in her work ''The Multiverse'', 2018, (50 x 70 cm, acrylic on canvas).

Career

Since 2009, Wölk has become known for her works of colourful

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

trees and

landscapes. Her work is identifiable by her use of indanthrone blue to produce the depth and mystery of space and time. She has been nominated for an array of awards and scholarships. Her awards include the national

Studienstiftung The German Academic Scholarship Foundation (German: , or ''Studienstiftung'' for short) is Germany's largest and most prestigious scholarship foundation. According to its statutes, it supports "the university education of young people who, on ac ...

des Deutschen Volkes scholarship and a See.me Category Award for the ArtPrize competition 'Art Takes Paris', judged by directors from

The Andy Warhol Museum The Andy Warhol Museum is located on the North Shore (Pittsburgh), North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the largest museum in North America dedicated to a single artist. The museum holds an extensive permanent co ...

in New York,

Lisson Gallery Lisson Gallery is a contemporary art gallery with locations in London and New York, founded by Nicholas Logsdail in 1967. The gallery represents over 50 artists such as Art & Language, Ryan Gander, Carmen Herrera, Richard Long, John Latham, S ...

, and the Marianne Boesky Gallery. Wölk has been exhibiting in art fairs and private galleries and has been selling on the international market since the early 2000s, including

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and others. She has been a part of a handful of residencies, including the ''Tag und Nacht'' at Werkstatt Plettenberg 2008, the 2012 Bodensee Art Fund Residency, and the artist-in-residence grant in Goriska Brda,

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

awarded by the German Embassy, 2014. Wölk has exhibited alongside other well known contemporary artists such as Robert Rasuchenberg, Johannes Wohnseifer, Azade Köker, and Stephan Balkenhol. Wölk currently is represented by
5 Pieces Gallery
', Bern, Switzerland and
Alfa Gallery
', Miami, USA. She also has been professionally recognised through workshops and lectures she has offered, and has featured in podcasts and coordinating education programmes. Since 2008, Wölk has been a senior teacher in the Painting Department at the Fine Art Faculty of Jugendkunstschule in

Pankow Pankow () is the second largest and most populous Boroughs and quarters of Berlin, borough of the German capital Berlin. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, it was merged with the former boroughs of Prenzlauer Berg and Weissensee (Berlin), W ...

, Berlin.

Collections

* Proje 4L, '' Elgiz Museum'' of Contemporary Art, Istanbul, Turkey. * CICA Museum, Gimpo, South Korea. * Collection of ArtSuites Hotel Group Istanbul/Bodrum, Turkey. * The Sketchbook Project, Brooklyn Art Library, New York, USA. * Adham El-Khalil Art Collection, Beirut, Lebanon. * Max Winzer Art Collection, Coburg, Germany. * Andreas Wagner Art Collection, Dresden, Germany.

Early life and education

Work

Career

Collections

References

Further reading