Elvira Heimann is an artist based in Hamburg. Art and music were part of the everyday life of her Huguenot family and so she developed a strong sense for the beauty of the visual arts, music and literature at a very early age. This led to a deepening of the discipline in the academic field (art), as well as a degree in theology and psychology.
Tell us your story, why did you become an artist?
I grew up in an old Huguenot family where art and music were part ofeveryday life. My father painted, my mother wove carpets.
When you create a new work, how do you go about it? What comes first?
In my pictures, vivid feelings and complex experiences come together to create art that touches and invites you to pause. “Feel the Art” is the motto of my artistic work, the picture begins to breathe and something unique is created in its own dramaturgy for me in the painting process and for the viewer, when the picture speaks to him. I immerse myself in the vivid feeling of being able to be a “creator” in my world and sharpen my perception of the more hidden dimensions of our lives. I capture the visualization of my experiences, the complex, hidden and simply beautiful things that need to be discovered, in colored energy cushions or minimalist gestures.
What can you tell us about your studio, what makes it special to you and how does it influence the way you work?
My studio is my retreat. In the meditative deepening I enter into a dialogue with the colors and media. It is important to me that I keep external influences (media, other works of art, my interpretive mind etc.) as low as possible.
Impulses for action unfold from my unconscious, which step by step lead to an image and lie beyond my cognitive and emotional control. I am influenced by the life I lived and especially the experiences I have in nature and with people: a wonderful symphony of life between chaos and order. For me, nature is a metaphor for our being.
Is there a work of art in your life that has especially impressed you?
My visual reality is nourished by the life I have lived and the diverse experiences in encounters with people, literature and philosophy, as well as music and art. I get additional inspiration from nature experiences that touch my soul. In nature I experience the greatness of a “creation” that touches all the senses and gives rise to life. Since everything in the world flows, including your own life, one of the meanings of art for me is to capture, pause and experience the moment (Kairos) in its unique meaning.
Reach to the stars: where will you be in 5 years?
I would like to capture the beauty and wisdom of the desert in a new series.
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