Light

The lights of the big city shine out at you in the paintings of Angela Wichmann. She makes them glow in nocturnal cityscapes, plays with reflections, illuminates corners and edges, and highlights objects as if under the spotlight on a stage. The motifs of her series Weltenduft (Scent of the World) are street scenes at dusk or in the middle of the night, but the main character is always the light. The view extends far into the distance, yet the strong sense of space seems to have been created only to emphasize the detail in the foreground all the more, as the focus is clearly set; in the distance it becomes blurred and hazy, contours dissolve and it is the light again that dominates the view into the depth, condensed into points of light, outshining the bokeh space.

Other city views present themselves under cover – as if seen through a transparent film that refracts lines, distorts outlines and – above all and in particular – reflects the light, only becoming visible through it, adding another layer to the scenery, defining the geographical position of the viewer and making the motif behind it seem distant and unreachable.

The Berlin artist has been involved in oil painting since her youth, but after school she first trained as a technical designer and then studied mechanical engineering at the Beuth University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. She initially worked in software design, but continued to pursue her artistic work, completing art history courses and seminars in printing and painting, until she moved into her first studio and began working as a freelance artist in 2002. Today, her works are regularly on show in numerous exhibitions and can be found in collections across Europe and beyond.

More about the artist: Angela Wichmann's artist page