Democracy is increasingly faltering, and I began to worry about our existing democratic order as early as 2018. The UK was negotiating Brexit, some countries repeatedly eroded the pillars of democracy, and right-wing populists were gaining strength in several countries. 

 

With my current project "Symbols of Democracy", I am therefore setting an example for democracy: I am painting buildings in which people live and work for democracy - in oil and on large canvases, on-site for several days. Over the course of the seasons, I depict the parliament and government buildings in different atmospheres. With my bright paintings full of vibrant colours, I want to express the hope for peaceful coexistence in a free, democratic Europe.

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This series "Symbols of Democracy", including the European Institutions in Strasbourg, the Berlin and Bonn government buildings and the Sénat in Paris, was shown in May and June 2022 at the Society for International Cooperation (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) in Bonn, and from November 9 to December 14, 2022, at the State Representation of Rhineland-Palatinate in Berlin.

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From September 19 to November 2023 the series was exhibited at the State Representation of Rhineland-Palatinate in Brussels, and exhibitions are planned at the French Senate in Paris, at the World Forum for Democracy of the European Council in Strasbourg and at the German Consulate in Wroclaw.

 

Support, loans and purchases

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Fortunately, I have been supported for my project by the German Bundesrat, the German Bundestag, the World Congress Center in Bonn, the French Sénat, the Quirinal Palace in Rome, and the Representation of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate in Berlin and Brussels.

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Thanks to this support, I was able to paint - among other places - the plenary hall of the Bundesrat, the former plenary hall of the Bundestag in Bonn, as well as the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, seen from the terrace of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Representation. 

Furthermore, I was given the opportunity to paint the impressive "Escalier d'honneur" and other important parts of the Sénat in Paris directly on site.

The Quirinal Palace in Rome as well as the Presidential Chancellery in Vienna enable me to include places unique to the history of democracy such as the Quirinale Court of Honour and the Hofburg Palace in the series. 

 

The Vice President of the German Bundestag, Yvonne Magwas, is supporting the project by writing the foreword for a catalog of the series.

 

Paintings of the "Symbols of Democracy"were purchased, among others, by the former German President Christian Wulff and are on loan to the office of the current deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner at the Federal Press Office in Berlin as well as in the State Representation of Rhineland-Palatinate in Brussels.

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About my art

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Born in Canada, I grew up in Germany and graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris (ENSAD).

The intense training in observation, drawing and painting techniques I was able to learn during these 6 years studying in Paris have been a valuable basis for my work ever since.

The origin of all my art is the almost meditative fusion with my subjects - landscapes, architecture, atmospheres as well as the personality of people, due to the direct contact on site. 

To achieve this, the important means are not only sensitive drawing, analysis of lines, perspective and the dynamic of movement, but also the mastery of the immense variety of shades and complementary colours. An art I have studied thoroughly in the works of Monet, Cézanne, Van Gogh and Matisse.

For over twenty years, I have divided my time between Germany, France and Mallorca. On the Balearic Island, through my paintings, I explored the light intensity and the stark contrast offered by intense sun and shadow, as well as the unique infinite range of nuances of the lush Mediterranean landscapes.

Among the designs inspired by the North, parks and urban landscapes in Berlin, Potsdam and Strasbourg are particularly distinctive. Be it contemporary or more classical architecture - I have always been particularly attracted by the impact, beauty and concept of buildings as well as their integration in its surroundings.

Travel atmospheres are present as well, such as those rendered by the coastal landscapes of Northern France, impressions of Venice, Poland or New Zealand.