Hendrik Zimmer | Painting through Sculpture

We are very glad to present German artist Hendrik Zimmer's first solo exhibition at the gallery, titled Painting through Sculpture.

Hendrik Zimmer (b. 1973) is a German visual artist based in Frankfurt am Main. As an artist, he is particularly interested in materiality and the artistic process, which he describes as one where the works "emerge as paintings through sculpture". Zimmer creates unique large-format woodcuts with clear, geometric forms and saturated colors, assembling abstract forms and objects in such a way as to create spaces and gaps that the viewers can fill with their own associations. He prints directly onto the coarse, unprimed canvas using colored and carved-out woodblocks.

Zimmer’s process is partly informed by traditional methods such as block printing. Block printing was developed in Asia in the 10th century, and it is one of the oldest methods for reproducing images. For Zimmer, this is tied to his interest in modern day distribution of printed matter such as posters, billboards, and newspapers, which throughout his career has served as a major element in his practice.

Having previously worked with collage, painting, mixed media, and sculpture, he now works mainly with woodblock printing. In his most recent work, each color field corresponds to a unique printing plate, a unique object. His interest in the relationship between painting and sculpture has been with him since his time as a student, and Zimmer is constantly seeking new ways to bridge and unite these disciplines in his own work.

A Städelschule graduate and former Master Student of German sculptor Tobias Rehberger, Hendrik Zimmer has participated in a large number of international art fairs, including VOLTA (New York & Basel), POSITIONS Berlin, London Art Fair, Urvanity Art Fair (Madrid), PULSE (Miami Beach), and Art Cologne. Recent solo and duo exhibitions include Galerie Heike Strelow, Frankfurt, and Cerquone Gallery, Madrid & Caracas. Zimmer holds an MFA (2003-08) from the Academy of Fine Arts at Städelschule, Frankfurt, and previously studied at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe.