Katrin Koopmann »Aquarellherz«

In the organizer's words:

Gallery 149 presents

Katrin Koopmann "Watercolor Heart"

"She has been fascinated by watercolor since she was a child," says Katrin Koopmann.
Even as a little girl, she looked over her father's shoulder as he painted watercolors.
However, her own attempts quickly ended in color chaos, smiles the now 37-year-old. It was only during her art and illustration studies under the Wuppertal artist Detlef Bach, her lecturer, graduating father and laudator, that she learned to master the interplay between water and color.

At Galerie 149, the Schwerter native and graduate of the Ruhrakademie is now giving an insight into her special approach to watercolor. Her works, characterized by panels - graphic elements from the art of graphic novels - merge in combination with collage and mixed media to create an unmistakable visual language. At the center of each work is a realistic depiction, painted only with the tip of a brush, which is emphasized by an abstract environment.

In terms of content, the illustrator and artist deals with the merging of different themes in her works. Socially critical in "The disappearance of the silent smile". With personal emotions in "surgical cut". As a nature-loving person in "The Winter Guest".

Although there are occasional depictions of the human body in her works, the reference to the animal world is always particularly important to her and forms the focus of her artistic work.

Katrin Koopmann's connection to nature is particularly evident in "knisternd zischend- Zeigerart inachis io". In this work, the artist, who tends a near-natural garden with her family in the middle of an industrial area, deals with the advancing global warming and the associated effects on nature.

Using the upcycling method, she transforms watercolors, some of which are over 15 years old, into new works. The basis for the composition of the picture is a disused cardboard backing from a watercolor block.

The urgency of the theme is symbolized by the red tone applied with bold brushstrokes, which at the same time symbolizes the crackling, hissing fires that eat their way through precious nature reserves worldwide as worshipful forest fires. The work is given that special something by its layered panels. Under the pressure of a fingertip, they produce a crackling sound - just like in real nature, where the peacock butterfly protects itself from predators with crackling wing movements.

Vernissage: Sat. 27.06.2026 at 6 pm
Artist talk: Fri. 10.07.2026 at 4:30 pm

Exhibition period: 27.06. - 24.07.2026

Free admission.