ABOUT ME
My way
I was born and raised in Cologne. Even though Cologne as a city had a lot to offer culturally, the great self awaking came when I went to study in London in the nineties. I went to a "Foundation Studies Course for Art and Design“ in the midst of the "Cool Britania“ movement influenced by Britpop, Alexander McQueen and the art of Damien Hirst. Addicted to second-hand clothes and DIY fashion crimes, I had to shift the focus of my creative work to the third dimension after my basic studies: fashion design!
The longing for more personal space and depth led me to apply to the Academy of Fashion in Antwerp, where I was accepted, sewed and learned Dutch.
After graduating, I started my own fashion business and founded my own handbag label, “nani coldine”
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Meanwhile my illustrations were published in Glamour, Elle and Cosmopolitan. I expanded the brand parallel to a design services company. I designed collections for Aigner, developed and wrote the book "Taschen für Fashionistas" and worked as a trend scout for the German Fashion Institute. Seventeen years later, I can claim to have learned to know, love and condemn all the facets of this enticing industry.
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The focus on painting closes a circle for me. All the positive aspects of my experience as a designer now flow in here like a concentrate and I feel free from commercial pressure.
The Inspiration
Whether decorative, illustrative or linear: the focus usually lies on the face. With a touch of eccentricity and preferably in the shape of a strong woman! (although sometimes there is also a monkey's head...)
Inspirations come from female icons of art and pop culture. Like Frida Kahlo, Cindy Sherman, Kate Bush, Dolly Parton and Grace Jones just to name a few.
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I put old traditions and compositions of portrait painting into a contemporary setting. My works are, for example, in the tradition of Alex Katz (fashionable aspect), John Currin (seductive femininity), Henri Rousseau (naïve painting style) or August Sander (frontal gaze) flow and still feel free from commercial pressure.
The way I work
My artistic roots lie in fashion illustration, which is why I like to use markers, brushes and ink in my work. One of my favorite materials are also crepe tape and acrylic paint to achieve collage-like effects.
I start with a moodboard to sort my ideas before I even start to dip the brush in the paint. (This process is similar to my trendscoout boards from my work as a designer.)
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Due to my design background, I almost compulsively incorporate fashionable creations, from Gucci to Temperley London, into my paintings, using the cult symbol character of the prints, colours and stylistic elements.
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So it's no wonder that I start with a moodboard to sort out my ideas before I even start dipping the brush into the paint.
The fashionable context in which my pictures fit perfectly is therefore very important to me for the presentation, . E.g. at the Art Fair21 in cooperation with Cologne Couture or like recently at the De Ridder Concept Store, as part of the Tour Belgique (accompanying the Art Cologne).
The fashion context is also part of the presentation of my pictures and very important aspect of my presentation. For example, at the Art Fair21 in cooperation with Cologne Couture or, as most recently, at the De Ridder Concept Store, as part of the Tour Belgique (accompanying the Art Cologne).
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