Christiaan Dirk Tonnis (born June 5, 1956,

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...

, Germany) is a German

symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

/ realist

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for m ...

video artist Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. ...

and published author. He studied at the HfG Offenbach with Dieter Lincke and , and lives in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, Germany.

Work

Tonnis’ works are "supported with psychological knowledge" His earliest drawings reflect his interest in

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

and

psychopathology Psychopathology is the study of abnormal cognition, behaviour, and experiences which differs according to social norms and rests upon a number of constructs that are deemed to be the social norm at any particular era. Biological psychopatholo ...

such as, catatonic rigidity or the postnatal psychosis depicted in his 1980–85 collection. To "show the psychic as a second face" he "uses stitchings, masks and fragments of masks—they are sometimes barely visible" In 1986, he started to paint landscapes from literature like the " Magic Mountain (after

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...

)" and portraits of writers and philosophers as

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is considere ...

, and more. His large scale

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

Frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...

" is "a material image in harsh black and white which depicts a literary landscape of snow and ice in different viewpoints ..a picturesque transformation of

Thomas Bernhard Nicolaas Thomas Bernhard (; 9 February 1931 – 12 February 1989) was an Austrian novelist, playwright and poet who explored death, social injustice, and human misery in controversial literature that was deeply pessimistic about modern civilizati ...

s 1963 novel". Since 2003 his work has become more meditative: "Geometric patterns in bright colors", consistent with Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol) and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

—the series of minimalistic "

Meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

pictures". " Catwalk!" was exhibited at the Showroom Eulengasse in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 2007. The exhibition consisted of a series of

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

s created of cats' heads on women's bodies. The most recognizable bodies are those of Virginia Woolf "with big, sad eyes" and

Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is a British model. Arriving at the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fas ...

. In 2006 Tonnis set up a MySpace page dedicated to Thomas Bernhard, using pictures tell his biography. The theme of the page was Bernhard's motto "In the darkness everything becomes clear." In 2008 Tonnis started to contribute reviews on

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

to the style magazine

Dazed Digital ''Dazed'' (''Dazed & Confused'' until February 2014) is a bi-monthly British style magazine founded in 1991. It covers music, fashion, film, art, and literature. Dazed is published by Dazed Media, an independent media group known for producing ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. 2009: During the "Sommeratelier" at Kunstverein Familie Montez, Frankfurt, he created a painting for the

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

"Who let the dogs out, Edith?". This "experimental collage of different media and arts" has been a dialogue with

Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays ''Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', ''The Broken Jug'', ''Amphit ...

's play

Penthesilea Penthesilea ( el, Πενθεσίλεια, Penthesíleia) was an Amazonian queen in Greek mythology, the daughter of Ares and Otrera and the sister of Hippolyta, Antiope and Melanippe. She assisted Troy in the Trojan War, during which she w ...

, directed by

Hans-Jürgen Syberberg Hans-Jürgen Syberberg (born 8 December 1935) is a German film director, whose best known film is his lengthy feature ''Hitler: A Film from Germany''. Early life Born in Nossendorf, Province of Pomerania (1815–1945), Pomerania, the son of a ...

in 1988 with actress

Edith Clever Edith Clever (born 13 December 1940, in Wuppertal) is a German actress. Filmography *1976: ' *1976: Die Marquise von O. ('' Die Marquise von O'') *1978: Die linkshändige Frau (''The Left-Handed Woman'') *1979: Mädchenjahre (''L'Adolescente ...

. With the mural of a golden cross on black and violet ground—divided into

pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...

s—Tonnis has been one of 36 international artists who designed the "Pixelkitchen" in January 2013, a tiled room of 177.2 inches height at the ''Günes Theatre'' in Frankfurt. "All these artworks are glued, painted or nailed onto the walls." Christiaan Tonnis is a member of the St. Paulsgemeinde Frankfurt, which is holding church service at the Old St Nicholas Church, and the .

Video

Tonnis started to make videos in 2006. His subjects have included William S. Burroughs, Thomas Bernhard and the poet Georg Trakl. Alongside these works stand the video series of "

Dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

s", "Electrical Pictures", and animals—exhibiting a pop,

surreal Surreal may refer to: *Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art * "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki * ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze *Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor ...

pictorial language, often humorously staged. Since 2009 Tonnis produced 132 short documentaries about art projects, exhibition setups, openings and interviews for the Kunstverein Familie Montez. Of these, 16 works from December 2020 show the process of creating an 18 × 3.25 meter mural that was created by more than 40 artists in the joint project "Ein ganz normaler Herbst, nur anders ... 2020" ("A completely normal autumn, just different ... 2020). The short documentaries go together with a "Family Album", created out of video stills.

Solo exhibitions (selection)

* 1986: ''Zeichnungen'', Galerie Das Bilderhaus, Frankfurt * 1986: ''Zeichnungen'', Galerie 42, Gießen * 1989: ''Christiaan Tonnis'', Galerie Einbaum, Frankfurt * 1990: ''Christiaan Tonnis'', Galerie Limberg, Frankfurt * 2006: ''Dialog'', Kunstverein Eulengasse, Frankfurt * 2006: ''Zeichnung und Malerei'', Höpershof, Hannover-Wedemark * 2007: ''CATWALK!'', Kunstverein Eulengasse, Frankfurt * 2010: ''Hinter dem Spiegel'' (with a performance by

Eva Moll Eva Moll (born June 15, 1975, in Karlsruhe) is a German contemporary artist. Moll works in the media fine art printmaking, drawing and painting and its expansion in the areas of performance art and conceptual art. Beside works on canvas and paper; H ...

), Klosterpresse, Frankfurt * 2011: ''Christiaan Tonnis: Thomas Bernhards "Frost"'', Kunstverein Eulengasse, Frankfurt * 2019: ''Christiaan Tonnis – Screening Montez 2009-14'', Kunstverein Familie Montez, Frankfurt * 2021: ''Christiaan Tonnis – Novalis (Performance)'', Kunstverein Eulengasse, Frankfurt

Group exhibitions and festivals (selection)

* 2007: ''Sem Palavras / Ohne Worte'', Instituto Histórico de Olinda, Olinda * 2008: ''Antarctic Meltdown'',

Melbourne International Arts Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

, Melbourne * 2008: ''Sanlu Yishu'', Huajiadi Beili Wangjing, Beijing * 2008: ''Digital Fringe 08'',

Melbourne Fringe Festival The Melbourne Fringe Festival is an annual independent arts festival in Melbourne, Australia, usually over three weeks from late September to early October. Held since 1982, the Festival includes a wide variety of art forms, including theatre, com ...

, Melbourne * 2008: ''Road Movie'', Frieze Film at 6.

Frieze Art Fair Frieze Art Fair is an international contemporary art fair in London, New York, and Los Angeles. Frieze London takes place every October in London's Regent's Park. In the US, the fair ran on New York's Randall's Island from 2012–19 and in 2 ...

and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, London * 2008: ''Electrofringe'',

This Is Not Art This Is Not Art (TiNA) is a national festival of new media and arts organized in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia each year over the October long weekend since 1998. TiNA is dedicated to the work and ideas of artistic communities not genera ...

, Newcastle * 2009: ''Gut ist was gefällt'', Kunstverein Familie Montez, Frankfurt * 2010: ''2009 Was A Rough Year –

Lilly McElroy Lilly McElroy (born 1980, in Willcox, Arizona) is an American photographer. Her best known effort might be "I Throw Myself At Men", which involved her boyfriend, later husband, photographing her as she literally threw herself at men.Pete Brooke"Ph ...

'', Thomas Robertello Gallery, Chicago * 2012: ''Terremoto – Beben'', by Nikolaus A. Nessler, in collaboration with Christiaan Tonnis (Film), Nico Rocznik (Light) and Manuel Stein (Sound), Kunsthaus Wiesbaden * 2013: ''Wurzeln weit mehr Aufmerksamkeit widmen'', Kunstverein Familie Montez and Der Laden/

Bauhaus University, Weimar The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar is a university located in Weimar, Germany, and specializes in the artistic and technical fields. Established in 1860 as the Great Ducal Saxon Art School, it gained collegiate status on 3 June 1910. In 1919 the sc ...

* 2014: ''

Les Fleurs du Mal ''Les Fleurs du mal'' (; en, The Flowers of Evil, italic=yes) is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire. ''Les Fleurs du mal'' includes nearly all Baudelaire's poetry, written from 1840 until his death in August 1867. First publish ...

– Dithering Cities'', Luminale, Frankfurt * 2015: ''Kunst Messe Frankfurt 15'', Kunstverein Familie Montez, Hall 1.2, Messe GmbH, Frankfurt * 2017: ''Supermarket 2017'', Stockholm Independent Art Fair, Stockholm * 2018: ''Quinceañera'', Kunstverein Eulengasse, Frankfurt * 2018: ''Supermarket Art Fair'', Daily Film Documentation of Performances, Stockholm * 2019: ''Latitudes Festival'', Santa Cruz de la Sierra * 2019: ''Open/Occupy II'', Kunstfabrik am Flutgraben, Berlin * 2020: ''Participate NOW!'', EULENGASSE @ Platforms Project NET – Independent Art Fair, Athens * 2020: ''Ein ganz normaler Herbst, nur anders ...'' , Kunstverein Familie Montez, Frankfurt * 2021: ''Platforms Project Net 2021'', Platforms Project - Independent Art Fair, Athens * 2021: ''Inspiration'', Klosterpresse, Frankfurt * 2021: ''be**pART'', Atelier Montez, Rome

Curated exhibitions

* 2011: ''Schamanismus aus dem Großen Altai'', Kunstverein Eulengasse, Frankfurt * 2011: ''Meg Cebula. Geheimnis und Schönheit'', Kunstverein Eulengasse, Frankfurt"Meg Cebula. Geheimnis und Schönheit"
kunstaspekte.de, 2011-05-27

Bibliography

* Christiaan Tonnis: ''Krankheit als Symbol'', Berlin Pro Business, 1. Edition 2006-11-03, 2006, * Christiaan Tonnis, Oswald-von-Nell-Breuning-Schule and the town of

Rödermark Rödermark is a town in the Offenbach (district), Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany, southeast of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and northeast of Darmstadt. Geography Location The town ...

: ''5+5=1!'', DVD-Video (25 min.), 2011, archived at the town of Rödermark * ''ROT'' – Das Magazin des Kunstvereins Eulengasse, Axel Dielmann-Verlag, Frankfurt, 2013, p. 15-16, 145, 148-149, 15, * Kerstin Krone-Bayer and Hanna Rut Neidhardt (Publishers): ''Montez im Exil – Kunstverein Familie Montez'', Frankfurt, 2014, * ''Familie Hecht – Eine Erinnerung'', 2017, DVD-Video, in collaboration with the Oswald-von-Nell-Breuning-School, Rödermark, archived at the

Jewish Museum Frankfurt The Jewish Museum Frankfurt am Main is the oldest independent Jewish Museum in Germany. It was opened by Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl on 9 November 1988, the 50th anniversary of ''Kristallnacht''. The Jewish Museum collects, preserves and com ...

* Christiaan Tonnis – ''Die Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei'', epubli Verlag Berlin, 2017, * Christiaan Tonnis – ''Das grafische Werk: 2006–2017'', epubli Verlag Berlin, 2017, * Christiaan Tonnis – ''Videos 2009-2017, Kunstverein Familie Montez, Werkverzeichnis'', epubli Verlag Berlin, 2017, * Christiaan Tonnis – ''Copy and Paste'', epubli Verlag Berlin, 2017, * Christiaan Tonnis – ''Texte und Schriften: 1986–2017'', epubli Verlag Berlin, 2017, * Christiaan Tonnis – ''Catwalk: Die Collagen'', epubli Verlag Berlin, 2019, * Marlies ter Borg: ''Bipolar creativity: through the ages'', Independently published, 2021-02-16, p. 69, back cover, * Christiaan Tonnis – ''Copy and Paste 2'', epubli Verlag Berlin, 2021, * Christiaan Tonnis – ''Das grafische Werk: 2006–2022'', epubli Verlag Berlin, 2022, * Christiaan Tonnis – ''Das fotografische Werk 1'', epubli Verlag Berlin, 2022, * Christiaan Tonnis – ''Das fotografische Werk 2'', epubli Verlag Berlin, 2022,

Notes

External links

Christiaan Tonnis
in

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...

Christiaan Tonnis – Official Homepage

Christiaan Tonnis – ''Kunstverein Familie Montez – Family Album''

Exhibitions listed on ''kunstaspekte.de''

Christiaan Tonnis on ''artfacts.net''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonnis, Christiaan 1956 births Living people German contemporary artists 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German male painters 21st-century German painters 21st-century German male artists German video artists