Arndt, Heike Peinture [Danemark]

Exhibitions in Kettinge:
1.juli-31.august :"You and me" , Heike Arndt, oil paintings, bronze sculpture graphic and mixed media

3.september-12.oktober, "In the sign of graphic ", a large graphic exhibition with 50 Nordic graphic artists who have worked in the past 50 years at Morgens Sandbergs print place and the permanente exhibition with artwork of Heike Arndt

15.oktober-18.december:"Walking on the RIGHT side" ,photo exhibition with Carina Johnsen and artwork of Heike Arndt
Visitors are also invited to a guided through through the gallery and working space with a more detailed introduction to the work. Fee: 50 Kr. each Person, circa1 hour, max 20 persons. Reservation needed, call Telephone. +45 40 45 35 65 With bigger groups you can pick the time and day of your convenience.

1963, on the 4th of June,
I was born as an only child in the former DDR in Strausberg, a small village outside Berlin. The first years we lived in Herzfelde, close to the home of my grandparents, to whom I was close, also in later years. Already in a very early stage, my grandfather encouraged me to pursue art. Before my first day of school, we moved to the center of Berlin Mitte. Close to the Wall in Zionskirchstrasse, a working-class quarter with the smell of the baker’s fresh-baked cakes in our stairway.

The coal dealer was just around the corner with his black gold. Not to forget the grocer who sold liquorice sticks for a penny (10 øre): my reward for hard work at school. Already after the first two classes in school, I was moved to another school. A language school where “ especially intelligent children” were trained to learn the Russian language at a high level, being groomed to be future leaders. I preferred sports, music and drawing, all the creative things much more, and my big dream was ballet dancing. After my lost fight about the ballet school, I began to paint and play music more and more. During the many visits to my grandparents, I practiced for hours on their piano. But my future was not in music either, our apartment was too small for a piano and the noise too loud. But painting I did - for hours - also sometimes secretly in the night, when the days were too short.

1972 after winning the first prize in a national childrens’ competition, I started to paint seriously. I was admitted to the Otto Nagel House, which taught drawing lessons to children. I still remember my first works from that time, with wax on paper.
My daily school course was characterized by great fluctuations, my lack of interest in the languages let me fight my way through the school. The week-ends spent with my grandparents were passed more or less with painting, as I was guided by my very patient grandfather. Flower pictures, landscapes and portraits such as that of Mrs. Knospe, age 94, who posed patiently while telling about her journeys from the Niagara Falls to desert landscapes.

1978, I had to choose my future life. After long discussions with my parents about my future they agreed that at the age of sixteen, I could to live in a rented room , 160 km away from home. After one year as a factory worker , I was able to reach my new dream of becoming a ceramist. The place was Lausitzer Keramik in Kamenz. As a young city girl in a small village
with the newly gained freedom, life could not pass totally unproblematic for me. My questions, sometimes awkwardly, got me into confrontations wherever I went. My good school education proved valuable due to the analytical abilities I had been taught.

1981 I passed the final test as a ceramist with fine grades and with appreciation of my talents, especially in design and product development. Already at that time I had met my Danish boyfriend. Then I knew that I would not work in a factory, but was hungering for much more individual work.

1981-1982 I was traveling through the DDR. For some time I worked in Crinitz, where I got to know Christel Kiesel. She opened a totally new world to me - artists like Stötzer and many others were working at times in her ceramic workshop. Her openness gave me the possibility of meeting the extremes of very different people. We became close friends.

1983 the journey went on north to Vipperow, where I got a job with the local vicar who was very progressive, and his wife was a ceramist. Already at that time it was difficult for me to find work because of my Danish boyfriend. Being an atheist, in the vicarage I was for the first time introduced to religion. Our discussions at the evening table about politics, music, art,
religion and environment became essential. Again, I met many new people. Musicians from Ton-Stein and Scherben, young enthusiastic environmentalists, who later on became strong persons personalities in politics - but also artists from all disciplines. I will never forget the tears in my father’s eyes when he brought me there - to a place so far removed from my
upbringing.

1984 I worked for a short period for the ceramist Manfred Müller and moved back to Berlin. A very indulgent manager employed me and defied the recommendations not to employ me from the personnel department, which was already informed about my connections with Denmark. Only a few months later I fled illegally to Western Germany. The days before , I worked under high pressure in the production of my development, as a form of compensation and to ease my bad conscience about letting down my employer.

1985 I arrived in Denmark, dreaming of my own studio. At Errindlev in Lolland I opened my first studio, thanks to the faith the local bank had in me. Before that, for a short period I had been working with Eslau Ceramics in Sengeløse. During the first year, I learned the Danish language which was necessary for my survival. The new freedom opened up numerous possibilities of acquiring new techniques and getting in touch with a quite different understanding of art. Already before my first year in Denmark had passed, I was travelling a lot.To Italy, the Benelux countries, Germany, Sweden, Finland and Spain. Often they were short journeys with friends, on a small budget. Already at that time, Italy burned itself into my
memory.

1986 I started to paint seriously again, next to my ceramic works. The first exhibitions for art unions and in “Gallery Det lange Skovhus” were soon followed by the desire to travel and learn more. This time I wanted to focus more on painting. My Danish language had become good enough for me to start teaching ceramics and later on, painting.

1987 I participated at the NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) in the USA, a big world conference about ceramics. The variety in ways of expression I encountered in New York where I stayed for one month, left a profound influence. Again, I sucked in all the knowledge I could get from the many American artists within all discplines
of art. But also their culture had left a deep impression.

1988 seemed to be the year where my paintings became more and more central to my work. Various illustration jobs and my inclusion at exhibitions, such as “Den Frie” in Copenhagen, made me concentrate more and more on my work with pictures. The ceramics could no longer satisfy me, and I felt too limited in my ways of expressing myself.

1988-1989 came the decisive break with the ceramics. After an exchange stay in Torino and Monza,close to Milan, where I learned about lead glass and Italian mosaic techniques, it was obvious to me. I had to dare taking the plunge and becoming a full-time artist with all its consequences. My new boyfriend and the purchase of a house for a studio gave me completely new possibilities. My economic resources were limited, and in order to finance my new studio, I was forced to take on three jobs simultaneously, besides working on my art. At the end of the year I went to Porto in Portugal to learn and test litography lithography. At Avur - an artist workshop in the center of the town - I was taught by Jose Salgado and Carlo C. My visits in Italy were followed by the traveling exhibition “che parla” in collaboration with Vibeke Lindhardt, Kika Møller, Johanna Ludvigsen and Birthe Jensen - who have all worked with me in Italy.

1990 I received a large mosaic decoration assignment for Danisco, later Dow Denmark. One year’s work with mosaic for their new administration building in Nakskov and in collaboration with the architect Gorm Larsen. Gallery exhibitions in Denmark followed: at Gallery Gåsepigen, Gallery Syd, Svendborg and many art union buildings. My first German exhibitions were at Sawitsky in Hamburg.

1991-1993: more exhibitions and journeys, “Gallery Ægidius”, Randers, “Gallery Groll” in Holland and artcompetion exhibitions like the “Artist Summer Exhibition” in Thisted. The “Easter Exhibition” in Århus, followed by the Graphic Biennial Exhibition in “Lilievalchs Kunsthall”, Stockholm Sweden and “Sculpture Kvadriennial” in Riga, Art Lambå in
Japan and Fletcher Challenge in Auckland New Zealand, and many others. Those were also the years I met Ansgar Elde through my regular gallery, “Gallery Syd”. I accepted his invitation to come to Savonna in Italy, where I would work with ceramics and glass during the following years, concentrating mostly on graphics.

I had turned more to sculptures as a new dimension. My meeting with the sculptor Inka Uzoma finally encouraged me to get started with sculpting, which had been a wish for a long time, and it was not so far removed from my ceramic education either. My second exhibition and more large decoration assignments followed, increasingly in collaboration with architects.
My work load approached the limits of what was humanly possible. I could not get away from my work, it was the only important thing to me. Consequently, it resulted in a break-up with my boyfriend, which was a great strain on me.

More bio on http://www.heike-arndt.dk

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