Hendrik Zimmer | Paint / Plates / Shards

Hendrik Zimmer works primarily with woodblock printing to create visually striking and multilayered works. His images rely heavily on abstract, geometric shapes, integrating elements from various different contexts. Even though his work is not overtly referential, it is possible to identify influences from modernist movements, particularly Bauhaus, both in terms of visual expression and in the fundamental idea of a thoughtful, material-based process. He works directly on unprimed linen canvas, giving the works a raw and tactile character. Allowing the surface to play an active role in the visual expression creates a dynamic where the sharps lines and precise forms are contrasted by the canvas as a living, more unpredictable surface.

To Zimmer, the process itself is as important as the finished piece. From drawing and developing woodblocks, to composition and printing, he considers each step an integral part of the artistic practice. At the heart of his work is an interest in materiality and a desire to understand the physical properties of the materials he works with. In keeping with this ambition, he currently explores the possibility of eventually developing his own working materials, for exampe by weaving his own canvases and producing natural pigments.

Hendrik Zimmer (b. 1973, Frankfurt am Main) is a German artist, educated at the Städelschule in Frankfurt between 2003–2008. Zimmer is represented by Galerie Heike Strelow, Frankfurt, where he has previously presented several solo exhibitions (2024, 2020, 2018, 2016, 2014). His work has also been part of exhibitions at Square On Gallery, Saint Louis, Kai Middendorff Galerie, Frankfurt, Kunstmuseum Reutlingen, and Cerquone Gallery, Caracas. Paint / Plates / Shards is his second solo exhibition with Berg Gallery.