Artist Bio

Anja Wülfing was born in 1969 in Cologne, Germany. She has the following educational and professional training: Technical college for design (in Cologne), completion of technical diploma; apprenticeship in the K + K advertising agency, Photographer Udo Klein in Cologne, completion apprenticeship certificate as communication designer; and studies at the Art Center College of Design Europe (La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland), communication design, bachelor of fine arts.

After her training she worked as a communication designer in various advertising agencies. After a few years she became self-employed and founded the design company, Planet Pixel (now Weigelstein). Here she mainly did editorial and graphic design for the music and fashion industry. For a few years now she has shifted her focus to painting.

Artist Statement

Anja Wülfing (b. 1969) hails from Cologne, Germany, where she currently lives and works. Her artistic practice centers on the exploration of contrasts and oppositions, which she attributes to the duality of her creative impulses—one drawn to the traditional forms of Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassicism, and the other to abstract styles of painting.  

Wülfing’s works are characterized by the harmonious fusion of opposing elements—figuration meets abstraction, tradition meets progression—achieved through the combination of different surfaces and painting techniques. By sewing together fine and coarse canvas fabrics and painting classic elements in oil and abstract elements with acrylics, pencils and markers, the artist creates a unified whole out of seemingly disparate parts.

In the composition and coloration of her works, Wülfing employs oppositional contrasts, such as light/dark, dynamic/static, strict/playful and crowded/empty. Yet, she maintains a delicate balance between the two opposing elements, avoiding the dominance of one over the other. The styles seem to be competing for attention, but ultimately, they mutually benefit from each other’s presence.  

The painting process is planned and meticulous, with the artist referring to the tried and tested, the familiar, the slowly grown, the matured and the old. The figures are painted in oil, while the free, abstract elements are added with acrylic paint, pencils and markers. By merging the expressive possibilities of modern painting with the timeless techniques of the old masters, Wülfing creates unique “frequencies” of attitude or mood through the interplay of shapes and colors.

www.anjawuelfing.de

What initially compelled you to pursue art?

‍Historical and modern art has always fascinated me. My absolute favorite subject at school was art history and studying the old masters and their techniques. My grandfather was a sculptor and my father was a painter until he retired and gave me all his equipment of paints, brushes and his easel. I just tried using these materials and found my great passion in it.

‍Who or what in your life influences your practice the most?

‍I believe that there is this “struggle” with each individual painting. There is this path from using a few materials, such as tools, fabrics and colors, to the idea of creating something specific with them—it’s often quite [a] difficult path for me to really get there. In between, many emotions are evoked! In the end, there is often doubt as to whether it actually “succeeded” or not. When a picture is finished, this underlying doubt drives me to the next painting.

‍What do you feel is the key concept that connects your works?

‍I try to combine the portrait style of the old masters with the expressive techniques and elements of modern abstract painting. I want the styles to complement each other and form a balanced composition despite their differences.

‍What does your art give you that nothing else can?

‍Creating something from an idea to something actually tangible is, I believe, a great driving force for anyone who works creatively. I think every second of my thoughts revolve around an image, a process of creation or a composition.