Hendrik Zimmer Germany, b. 1973
Since the end of 2021, Hendrik Zimmer has focused on the technique of woodcut, an old artistic process that he has been reinterpreting. Accentuated outlines, stylization of the surface, a tendency towards closed areas of color and strict geometrization are characteristics of this technique, which Zimmer deliberately integrates into his clear, powerful images. In doing so, he experiments with different color densities, color intensities and structures and contining the characteristic play of his earlier works, which oscillates between two- and three-dimensionality, and between pictorial surface and pictorial depth.
He is particularly interested in materiality and the artistic creation process, which he describes as a process in which the works are created ‘like a painting by sculpture’ (Malerei durch Skulptur). Zimmer develops his visual language by combining forms and objects from different contexts. From this, he creates his own pictorial realms that do not ‘depict’ anything, but are something entirely of his own. They arise from Zimmer’s ‘fascination with the world and its people, its beauty and its abysses’, hinting at the familiar, but allowing the viewer to fill the resulting spaces with their own observations, experiences and memories. Zimmer’s works are about the truth of the work, about process and change. This is evident not only in the open legibility of his pictures, but also in the visibility of his working process. The making, the artistic process, the transformation and arrangement of the elements, the perception and reality of this, are Zimmer’s artistic driving forces.
His new works once again emphasize Zimmer’s love for posters, book illustrations and all kinds of printed matter. While he previously used these as material or templates, he now turns to the technique of woodblock printings. Like the artists of the European avant-garde of the 20th century, Zimmer drew on the technique of the great Japanese woodcut workshops, which had been producing multi-colored prints since the 10th century. This allows him to play with a variety of colors thatmix directly on the canvas. Using unprimed canvases and experimenting with paper as an additional support, Zimmer also opens up further wide-ranging possibilities for variation in the use of colour. The result are unique pieces, reminiscent of artworks from the 1920s and 60s, but at the same time bear Zimmer’s unmistakable signature.