Gerburg Garmann
About Me
I am a native of Germany, and a professor emerita of German and French at the University of Indianapolis. My scholarly publications appear in English, German, and French in international journals. My poems and artwork have appeared in various magazines and anthologies around the world.
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As an ex-pat residing in the United States, painting is yet another foreign language for me. It allows for an added layer of aesthetic expression by bringing different artistic and intellectual traditions together. It is a new language, which can be shared by many, verbally and non-verbally. Because paintings (just as other forms of art) provide symbolic as well as real meeting grounds of the spiritual and our day-to-day experiences, they solicit our reaction no matter whether our engagement with the actual piece of art ends up in affection or dislike, in affirmation or disapproval. In the end, all artwork manifests a story.
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Next to offering fully abstract pieces, my chosen mission is to tell -- over and over -- the often untold stories about women via abstract portraits. Abstracts have the ability to be truer than non-fiction in that they gather traits, thoughts, and experiences into an attractive and meaningful composite. Mine offers an offbeat quality through stark expressionistic imaging. Thus, they are meant to evoke (or rekindle) a wide variety of thoughts and emotions, bear witness, affirm individual experiences, engender discussions, and –at their best-- provide the viewer with both aesthetic pleasure and intellectual challenge.
My art addresses women and men who want more than a realistic depiction of any given subject. (That’s best left to the photographer.) Instead, I embrace and mirror the edginess of our existence in my art– that of struggle and achievement, of the surreal in the real, while opening up pictorial spaces for various forms of personal interpretation and enjoyment. My pieces are one of a kind. They celebrate key existential moments, questions, and insights while being intentional about bearing specific witness to women’s experiences. At the same time, my artwork memorializes women’s uniqueness within the human fabric.
My pieces are meant to be life-long companions, unique gifts to yourself and those around you who appreciate the confluence of global styles of thought and depiction. In my art, I aim to blend eras, and to honor both past and present traditions in the arts, namely as they manifest the interchange of American and European traditions.
My pieces range in size (from 4x6 over 36x48 to 48x72) and fit a traditional, contemporary, eclectic, residential, or corporate environment.
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I accept commissions. They are based on a one-hour interview with the respective collector. Please watch the video below to get a better idea about the working process.
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