Laumee Fries
Künstlerin
“Punk is not about clothing or hairstyles. It is about the energy drawn from a broken heart in the face of a relentless fate. It’s the ability to read between the lines and to stand one’s ground.” Glen Matlock (former bass player for the Sex Pistols)
“Obstacles are not blocking the path. They are the path.” Zen saying
About me
I am a German-based artist who creates paintings, drawings, and textile art of imaginary people.
My art is about healing and transformation, about the dark places that bleed till today and about the beauty and the tremendous possibilities that grow out of the dirt.
This of course stems from my own childhood. Besides the violence and loneliness, I also remember the trees, the fire salamanders, the vineyards, and my dog. And a lot of running and making up stories with the wind.
At the age of eleven, I was taken away – from my violent father, but also from the vineyards and trees. That’s when I began to float through emptiness and void without something to hold on.
What happened next? The usual, I guess. Got kicked out of school, lived alone at 15 and somehow got lost. I went to a school in Berlin and studied a bit of Fine Art and Stage Design, but I left and got a degree in Media Design. But I dragged the loneliness with me – and the dirt. For many years.
Until a severe sepsis in 2018 changed everything. I awoke from coma, unable to move or even speak. The world was in pieces, and my body as well. When I picked it up and stitched it back together again, I chose to make it different than before. With more space in between to let fresh air in and to have a clearer view of the world. And that’s how I also create my art now – with ashes, earth, soy, and fibres.
I love the works of Niki de Saint Phalle and Louise Bourgeois, and the playful machines of Jean Tinguely. I also draw huge inspiration from Andrey Tarkovsky’s poetic cinema, Punk, Zen, and Celtic mythology.
My own works were shown in exhibitions in Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and France. I live and work as a freelance writer and visual artist near Cologne in Germany.
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Do you want poetry, art and inspiration in your everyday life? Then visit my gallery and discover my drawings and paintings. Or subscribe to my newsletter full of inspiring stories and art
Natural paints
I am passionate about making my own paints from natural materials – and I like to pass on my knowledge. You can find many recipes in my blog that you can try for yourself.
Almost all of my paintings are made with natural materials such as soy milk, egg tempera, charcoal, earth, ink and fibers. I also dye fabric with plants, spin wool and make my own inks.
Education
Fine Art and Stage Design with Pauline Disson and Abuzer Güler at die Etage, Berlin
Cultural studies (literature and history) at FernUni Hagen
Media Design digital/print at L4 in Berlin
Art Shows
2017 KUNSTRAUM, Herchener Malkasten, Windeck
2016 Feuer, Wasser, Erde, Luft, Theater am Park, Eitorf*
2013/2014 jede Menge kleine Pop-up Ausstellungen
2012 ALL ALONG THE WITCHTOWER, Walberberg
2011 SHREDS, Museum Föhren
2009 QUIET, KunstAusstellung, Schweich
2007 – 2008 Interimsgalerie in der Hosenstr, Trier
2006 Temporärer Ausstellungsraum in der Pallasstraße, Trier
2005 FORGOTTEN, Kunstverein K&K im Kankenhaus, Trier
2004 BLOODMONEY, Bider & Tanner, Basel, Schweiz
2003 SPUREN DER ZEIT, Residenz Engelsplatz, Lörrach*
2003 Le Nouveau Printemps, Pézenas, Frankreich
2003 Städtische Galerie Villa Aichele, Lörrach*
2002 Mas les Micocouliers, Montagnac, Frankreich
2001 Galerie Nunatak, Berlin
2001 Berolina Schriftbild, Berlin
2000 Galerie im Uhrturm, Dierdorf
* group show