"The only thing I know is that I paint because I need it." Frida Kahlo
Today we’re excited to bring you a closer look at the work of German artist Eva Dölker-Heim. Eva grew up in Gomaringen, a village in southwest Germany. She has loved anything that has to do with drawing, painting, art, and creativity for as long as she can remember. This interest was further developed when she opted to do a Foundation Course in Art and Design in Norwich. After completing her degree in England, she went on to study art and fashion design in Germany with a diploma on the theme of “Natural Patterns“. This question on “Natural Patterns“ and how all things are connected still features prominently in Eva’s work to the present day. In 2018 she had a training in Art Therapy at the C.G. Jung Institut Stuttgart. Eva worked as a Designer and Product Manager for several years in the fashion industry and is now a partner of a lingerie business. She combines the work for the family business with intense research into her fine art projects. In her work, she explores different techniques and artistic experiments in the fields of painting, drawing, painting, and sculpture. Her artistic process is an exploration of different materials, patterns, laws, and forms, in which she follows inner and outer movements to make them visible. Eva has taken part in several exhibitions across Europe and her work is in private exhibitions in Germany and the UK. She has been featured both in print and digital media. Eva Doelker-Heim currently lives and works near Tübingen, Germany.
Artist Statement:
In my paintings, I currently explore the use of natural or recycled materials. Wherever possible, I use pigments of vegetable, mineral, or organic origin and resins, oils, and glues according to old recipes. This type of painting appeals to all senses: in addition to the incredible depth and liveliness of the natural pigments, there is the characteristic smell of the oils and resins. The oil on the hands, the warm glue, the rough pigments, and the crunch when rubbing the sandy pigments appeal to the senses of touch and hearing. I deeply love the ocean which is reflected in many of my works. For me, the artistic process is an immersion into the work - like a diver I swim deeper and deeper into the unconscious, becoming one with the work. My strong connection with the environment has been an important topic for me since I was a student. This made me question the use of synthetic materials and producing waste. I am very interested in how shapes and natural patterns are created, and, to use Gregory Bateson, "the pattern that connects". My work is research on how natural patterns evolve in human creativity as well as in nature.
See more on the artist’s Instagram account.
