CHRISTEL BRANDL

Warum haben Sie sich für abstrakte Kunst als Ihre Hauptausdrucksform entschieden?
Die abstrakte Malerei ist für mich kein bewusst gewählter Stil gewesen, sondern ein natürlicher Weg, der sich aus meiner inneren Arbeitsweise entwickelt hat. Kreativität begleitet mich schon mein ganzes Leben – lange bevor ich zur Malerei kam, habe ich intensiv mit Ton gearbeitet und meine Ideen über verschiedene Ausdrucksformen gelebt.
Als ich vor einigen Jahren begann zu malen, wurde schnell klar, dass ich nicht abbilden möchte, was sichtbar ist, sondern das, was sich innerlich zeigt. Ich arbeite stark intuitiv und lasse mich von Farben, Bewegung und Atmosphäre leiten. Ein Bild entsteht bei mir im Dialog – es wächst Schicht für Schicht und darf sich über Zeit entwickeln.
Die Abstraktion gibt mir die Freiheit, Räume zu öffnen, in denen Betrachterinnen und Betrachter ihre eigenen inneren Erfahrungen wiederfinden können.

Welche Elemente oder Themen tauchen in Ihren Werken am häufigsten auf?
In meinen Arbeiten entstehen häufig Schichten, Strukturen und Übergänge, die Prozesse sichtbar machen. Kreise, Linien und Lichtfelder tauchen immer wieder auf – ebenso fließende Bewegungen, aber auch bewusst gesetzte kantige Elemente.
Mich interessiert besonders das Spannungsfeld zwischen Ruhe und Bewegung, Klarheit und Offenheit. Viele meiner Bilder wirken wie innere Landschaften oder Atmosphärenräume, ohne konkret gegenständlich zu sein.
So entstehen Werke, die weniger erzählen als vielmehr einladen – zum Innehalten, Wahrnehmen und persönlichen Entdecken.

Wie beeinflussen Farbe und Material Ihren künstlerischen Prozess?
Farbe ist für mich ein unmittelbarer Zugang zu Stimmung und Wahrnehmung. Ich beginne meist ohne festgelegtes Konzept und greife intuitiv zu den Farben, die mich in diesem Moment ansprechen.
Ich arbeite überwiegend mit Acryl, Pigmenten, Strukturpaste und Sumpfkalk, gelegentlich auch mit Naturmaterialien aus dem Wald. Das Material spielt dabei eine sehr körperliche Rolle – ich arbeite nicht nur visuell, sondern spüre die Oberfläche, die Dichte und die Bewegung im Entstehungsprozess.
Durch die Schichtung entsteht eine Tiefe, die sich erst nach und nach zeigt – ähnlich wie innere Prozesse selbst.

Woher nehmen Sie Ihre Inspiration?
Meine Inspiration entsteht vor allem aus inneren Prozessen, aus der Stille und aus atmosphärischen Erfahrungen. Auch die Natur spielt eine wichtige Rolle für mich – weniger als Motiv, sondern als Resonanzraum.
Oft beginne ich ein Bild ohne klares Ziel. Während des Malens zeigt sich, was entstehen möchte. Ich verstehe meine Arbeit deshalb als einen offenen Prozess des Wahrnehmens und Antwortens auf das, was sich zeigt.
Viele Betrachterinnen und Betrachter beschreiben meine Bilder als Orte der Ruhe oder Klärung – das berührt mich sehr, weil genau dieser Erfahrungsraum ein zentraler Teil meiner künstlerischen Arbeit ist.

Arbeiten Sie nach einem festgelegten Prozess oder intuitiv?
Meine Arbeit beginnt immer intuitiv. Ich lasse Farben fließen, setze erste Spuren und beobachte, wie sich das Bild entwickelt.
Danach entsteht eine zweite Ebene der bewussten Gestaltung. Ich stelle Bilder häufig so auf, dass ich ihnen im Alltag immer wieder begegne. Mit etwas Abstand zeigen sich neue Hinweise, Richtungen oder Entscheidungen.
So entsteht jedes Werk schichtweise über längere Zeiträume hinweg – in einem lebendigen Dialog zwischen Intuition und Wahrnehmung.

Welche Projekte oder Ziele möchten Sie in naher Zukunft erreichen?
In nächster Zeit möchte ich meine Arbeiten verstärkt in Ausstellungen zeigen und neue Kooperationen mit Praxen, besonderen Orten und inspirierenden Räumen aufbauen.
Mir ist es wichtig, Kunst nicht nur als Objekt zu verstehen, sondern als Erfahrungsraum für Begegnung, Wahrnehmung und innere Bewegung. Diesen Ansatz möchte ich weiter vertiefen und auch international sichtbarer machen.
Langfristig sehe ich meine Arbeit als Beitrag dazu, Räume zu gestalten, in denen Menschen sich selbst auf neue Weise begegnen können.

1. Why did you choose abstract art as your main form of expression?

I chose abstract art because it allows space rather than explanation.
I’m not interested in telling the viewer what to think or feel. Abstract work creates an atmosphere – a pause – where everyone can bring their own perspective.

For me, abstraction works especially well in professional and working environments. It doesn’t distract, it doesn’t dominate the room, but it supports focus, calm thinking, and clarity. That quality is very important to me.



2. Which elements or themes appear most frequently in your works?

Calm, balance, and structure are recurring themes in my work.
Even when the surface feels layered or complex, I’m always looking for stability underneath.

My paintings are created to function in spaces where people spend meaningful time together – meeting rooms and offices, but also living rooms and homes, where people slow down, talk, reflect, and connect.

I’m interested in how a painting can create a visual anchor in a space – something that supports focus and calm thinking in professional environments, and at the same time brings depth, presence, and quiet atmosphere into more personal, everyday settings.



3. How do colour and material influence your artistic process?

Colour plays a crucial role in setting the emotional temperature of the space.
I often work with cooler tones because they naturally support calmness, concentration, and mental clarity.

Material and texture add depth, but I use them carefully. I don’t want the painting to feel loud or chaotic. Every layer has a purpose – to slow the viewer down rather than overwhelm them.



4. Where do you find your inspiration?

I find a lot of inspiration in nature – especially in moments that naturally slow us down.
Sunrises and sunsets, snow-covered mountains, calm lagoons in the Caribbean, the depth of the ocean, coral reefs, or a blooming garden all share a similar quality: they create space for breathing and reflection.

These natural environments influence my sense of colour, depth, and balance. I translate those impressions into abstract form, aiming to bring a similar feeling into interior spaces – a sense of calm, clarity, and mental openness, even in demanding, professional environments.



5. Do you follow a process or work instinctively?

There is a clear structure in my process, but within that structure I work intuitively.
I don’t plan the final result in advance. Instead, I respond to what the painting needs in order to feel balanced and grounded.

If a painting doesn’t support calm and focus, I rework it. I stop only when the piece feels stable enough to exist naturally within a space.



6. What projects or goals would you like to achieve in the near future?

In the near future, I would like to collaborate more closely with companies, architects, and curators who work with professional spaces.

My goal is to create artworks that are not only visually strong, but that actively contribute to the atmosphere of offices, meeting rooms, living rooms – places where clarity, trust, and thoughtful decision-making matter.

1.     Why did you choose abstract art as your main form of expression?

I realised relatively early on that I quickly felt confined by representational art. Abstract art gives me the freedom to show feelings and states for which there are often no clear images or words. It's less about explaining something and more about making something tangible.


2.     Which elements or themes appear most frequently in your works?

In my paintings, calm and tension often appear simultaneously. I work a lot with layers, with open and denser areas. In terms of content, it is often about inner processes, transitions, and the feeling that not everything is clear or complete.


3.     How do colour and material influence your artistic process?

Colour and material are very important to me because they strongly influence the process.

Materials like marble dust or lime bring their own structure and also resistance. This forces me to work more slowly and make decisions more consciously. Colour often emerges spontaneously.


4.     Where do you find your inspiration?

My inspiration comes less from specific motives. It arises more from moods, music, silence, or whatever is currently on my mind, personally or socially. Sometimes I only realise what a painting was actually about at the end.


5.     Do you follow a process or work instinctively?

I work mostly intuitively. There's no fixed plan, more of a slow approach. I react to what's happening in the image and intervene when I feel it needs a new direction. Mistakes are just as much a part of the process as corrections.


6.     What projects or goals would like to achieve in the near future?

In the future, I would like to engage even more deeply with socio-political issues, environmental questions, and diversity. I am currently planning a larger series of works with the working title "Changing Times."

An important part of this work for me is also a conscious shift in the
use of materials. With this series, I want to gradually move from predominantly conventional materials to exclusively environmentally friendly and non-toxic paints and materials. This is not a finished state for me, but rather a learning process that will increasingly shape my artistic approach in the future.

My focus is less on quick results and more on further clarifying and making my position visible, also through exchange with GalleryOne962.

1. Why did you choose abstract art as your main form of expression?
Abstracts represent freedom of expression, freedom in colours and forms/shapes. I’m able to express my feelings and emotions without limitations. I can paint whatever that comes to me. That’s why I was attracted to abstract painting.

2. Which elements or themes appear most frequently in your works?
I don’t have many elements or themes that appear in my work. I have different periods where I enjoy painting differently. But it’s really depends on what mood I’m in.

3. How do color and material influence your artistic process?
I mainly paint with soft colours and mixed media. That reflects my mood or my feelings at that moment. Life is hard sometimes and then the need to paint is very strong and it’s easier to paint. I think it can be seen in some of my paintings. It takes more time for me to finish a painting when I’m in another mood.

4. How would you describe the evaluation of your style over time?
I wouldn’t say that my style has evaluated in that sense but I have new ways of approaching the end result. I used to have an idea in mind before beginning to paint even though it often ended up with something else. Nowadays I paint intuitively and free without any thoughts or plans. Many layers are more common now in my paintings compared to the early pieces.

5. What role do you think abstract art plays in today’s world?
I think abstract art plays an important role in today’s world by encouraging creativity, emotional expression and critical thinking. It challenges the viewer to interpret works freely.
It has also become a popular part of modern interior design to create mood and character.

6. What projects or goals would you like to achieve in the near future?
Since I’m not a professional artist I mainly paint for my personal pleasure. It has become a great part of my life and I’m so happy about it. I hope that some people like my artwork and it makes me happy if anyone likes to buy one. I hope for further opportunities of exhibiting in galleries, both physical and online.

1.     Have you always wanted to pursue this profession? How did your photographic career begin?

My interest in photography began when I was young, portraying friends and family and capturing nature scenes on holidays. Inspired by the striking images of nature I discovered in National Geographic magazines. After doing a history study for a year, I decided to make a change. At that time, I never imagined becoming an artist, it wasn’t my initial intention, but I always felt a strong pull toward art and creative expression. This curiosity eventually led me to explore photography more seriously: I enrolled in courses, attended a photography school, and later continued my studies at an art academy in Amsterdam. I co-founded a company with a friend. Together, we worked as freelancers, creating portraits, videos, and interviews. For a few years, this was an exciting chapter, but when my friend decided to move on, I continued the work on my own. Over time, however, I realized that commercial projects left me with little space for true creativity. The work felt limiting, and I longed for a deeper, more personal form of artistic expression. This shift led me to abstract art, where I found the freedom I had been searching for, a space where experimentation, intuition, and imagination could guide me. Through abstraction, I finally felt I could create work that was not only visually engaging but also deeply connected to my own artistic vision.

2.     What inspires your abstract work?

My favorite style of art has always been abstract, and for as long as I can remember I have felt inspired and fascinated by it. When I first began working with photography, I wasn’t creating abstract images. However, I was drawn to elements such as linework, patterns, colors, and symmetry, and I tried to seek out those qualities within my early photographic practice. At that time, this interest often manifested in street photography, where I looked for structured forms and hidden compositions in the urban environment. Over the years, my work gradually shifted. I began to move away from the figurative and documentary aspects of street photography and toward a more experimental approach, where color and movement became central. Today, my practice is firmly rooted in abstraction. My photographs no longer aim to represent a clear subject, but instead to create vibrant, colorful, and imaginative worlds of their own, images that step beyond reality into a space of pure visual explorations.

3.     How do you choose what to photograph and what to abstract from it?

I am always searching for something special, a play of colors, the way light falls across a surface, or the subtle geometry of a shadow. At times, this search is intentional, but often it is guided by coincidence. Many of my works emerge from moments I simply stumble upon: a sudden beam of sunlight shining into a glass, or the unexpected presence of an object with striking colors in an ordinary setting. Discoveries like these fuel my process just as much as deliberate explorations. I also seek out places, gardens, forests, and natural landscapes where plants and flowers offer endless inspiration. I am drawn to shapes, linework, and color combinations, and I use them as building blocks to create something beyond representation. Through play with focus, movement, and framing, creating abstract artworks. 

4.     What specific techniques do you employ, for example, long exposure, ICM?

I work with a wide range of experimental techniques in my photography, always searching for new ways to break away from traditional representation. Some of the methods I use include long exposure, intentional camera movement (ICM), deliberate unfocusing, and macro photography. In addition to these techniques, I often incorporate materials such as mirrors, glass, and water into my process. Through play with focus, movement, and framing, these elements transform into collaborators, bending light, distorting forms, and creating unpredictable reflections.

5.     What message do you want to convey with your photography?

My photographs are intended to provoke a visceral reaction rather than convey a literal meaning. Hoping that each viewer will form their own emotions and interpretations and see them in the work. Ultimately, art is about possibility, the endless potential to look beyond the surface and search for the abstract landscapes that exist in every moment of life. Hoping to capture the invisible and offer a new perspective on the world around us.

6.     What are your future dreams as a photographer? 

Looking ahead, I hope to gain more international exposure for my work and to collaborate with galleries that exhibit at art fairs around the world. Showing my art in these contexts would allow me to connect with a broader audience and place my work in dialogue with a diverse range of artistic practices. At the same time, I truly enjoy participating in local art markets, where I can meet people face-to-face, both fellow artists and those who simply enjoy engaging with art. These encounters are meaningful to me; having conversations, exchanging thoughts, and hearing that someone connects with my work is always inspiring and deeply rewarding. Another aspiration of mine is to share my work more widely through prints. Being able to place my images in the hands and homes of others, where they become part of someone’s daily environment, feels like a very personal and powerful way of connecting.

How did your artistic journey begin?

My artistic journey began with the newspaper headline "Picasso has died."

This early impression (I don't know why) led me to explore painting and the performing arts, but I decided to study architecture, which offered me artistic and creative opportunities.

The performing arts, such as painting or drawing, have always been a balance to architecture.



Where do you find your inspiration?

Inspired by a specific theme such as nature, landscape, or the human body, this is then distorted through a bold brushstroke.

The original theme is only hinted at.

Every viewer finds something different in my paintings and is inspired to think.



Preferred techniques or materials?

I acquired a wide range of techniques. My form of expression ranges from very planned works to spontaneous, emotional explosions of color and form. I implement these in various ways using work tools such as spatulas, sponges, painting knives, and brushes. I achieve a wide range of effects and moods with oil and acrylic paints, chalk, ink, and much more, which spontaneously flow into my works.

The preferred materials are realized on canvas, heavy paper like Fabriano 200 g, watercolor paper/rag paper, kraft paper or MDF board.

My work ranges from small to large formats.



Do you follow a process or work instinctively?

My art is initially of something tangible or figurative. Starting from reality, it is then abstracted through instinctive, intuitive painting.

The brushstrokes are immediate and instinctive, but are balanced by a strong compositional awareness that brings order to the apparent chaos.



What message do you want to convey through your art?

My main concern is to evoke positive feelings and harmony in both myself and the viewer.

My abstract, expressionist painting focuses on expressing these feelings and emotions through shapes, lines, and colors.

This can or should evoke an emotional response in the viewer through dynamism and spontaneity.



• Your future dreams as an artist?

As an artist, I live for my work. I often feel this irrepressible curiosity to engage intensely with my surroundings, to ask questions and find answers...

I dream of recognition and appreciation for my work and of becoming known to a larger audience. 

• How did your artistic journey begin?
I‘m a german artist, born in Munich in 1956, now living near Wiesbaden (D) and in Aarau (CH). Inspired by my father's artistic work, I began drawing and painting as a teenager in 1972. I deepened my artistic skills and knowledge by studying art and sports at Kassel University to become a teacher. Severel years before my retirement I devoted myself more intensively to my own artistic work again and developed a way of an informal artistic expression.  

• Where do you find inspiration?
My drive to be artistically active arises, on the one hand, from the need to process my experiences and the associated feelings and moods and on the other hand, from the interest in exploring the interactions between inner sensitivities, the creative process and its results.
A special motif lies in impressions, circumstances and places that got important to me in different ways. So I’m looking for materials, surfaces or structures at different meaningful places that can be used to express the assoziated feelings.

• Preferred techniques or materials?
I take “imprints”, rubbings, or embossings of found objects, which I often work on with watercolors but also with pastels, acrylic paints and printing inks. On the other hand I create abstract drawings and paintings in the form of emotional traces. Brushes and drawing pencils as well as natural materials, discarded items of clothing, sponges, twigs, sticks and squeegees serve as tools.

• Do you follow a process or work by instinct?
Even if there is a basic idea, I usually do not follow a certain path in the creation process and I always welcome coincidences. Without having a preconceived idea, I am usually guided by the movements of the tool, the surface or by music at all, but there are some works too in which a guiding idea sets or determines the process up to the end - for example, when I want to express my emotions on current socially relevant topics.

• What message do you wish to share through your art?
Since 2014 I have been working largely in an informal manner to process personal emotions and experiences of my life, but sometimes abstract figurative elements also find their way into my works.The second intention is to create an ästhetic adventure that inspires a viewer to get in contact to his own experiences and emotions and that never gets boring.
This is one reason, why the character of my artworks is mostly fragmentary, sketchy, torn or deconstructive, often with many layers of colors and lines.The viewer should have fun to look longer and closer and stimulate his own associations and fantasies. But for sure this has anything to do with my work as a teacher for children with special emotional and social needs too.

• Your future dreams as an artist?
I know that it‘s difficult to become successful in the art market at my age and without a longer artistic career, but I hope that I make some people happy with my artwork and it would be fine if anyone likes to purchase one.
If not, I’ll go on working, mainly for my personal pleasure, looking forward to honest and nice feedback and opportunities of exhibitions in interesting galleries.

• How did your artistic journey begin?

My artistic career began 13 years ago. I was attending a landscape architecture course and
realized that working as a landscape architect wasn't creative enough for me. During my break,
I called a painting school down the street that I'd been circling for a while. In this course, I learned about different materials and, in particular, the freedom of abstraction. I quickly immersed myself in the processes and learned a lot. I learned about materials like marble dust, wax, and lime putty, about pigments, and about liquid and solid materials.

It was only a little later that I began to use acrylics, acrylic inks, and much more.
For about two years now, I've been pursuing art more intensively and am increasingly moving
toward abstract landscapes. I'm increasingly working with acrylics, but occasionally with marble dust or other textures like paper and lime putty.

• Where do you find inspiration?

Like many artists, I find most of my inspiration in nature. But also in everyday objects, like the detail of an old wall, a close look at pebbles, or simply in beautiful fabric combinations or patterns. Much of my inspiration lies within me. In my heart, my soul, my thoughts, my dreams.

• Preferred techniques or materials?

I increasingly use acrylic, but also marble dust, various papers, lime putty, oil pastels, and watercolor pencils. I often enjoy combining different materials or colors. I'm fascinated by the combination of different techniques.

• Do you follow a process or work by instinct?

At first, I follow purely instinctively. After the instinctive phase, I see what's there. 

Then I decide spontaneously and/or consider how I can improve the artwork. Where something is missing, where I need to bring more calmness or dynamism.

• What message do you wish to share through your art?

I want to convey more beauty and, at the same time, ruptures. My pictures often contain both.
I am fascinated by the diversity of people, by good and evil. How both can exist, often even in
a single person. How people can protect nature in so many different ways, sometimes with enormous effort. But also with how much indifference they destroy it without thinking. I want to focus on beauty. Always make it the center of attention and evoke longings. But every now and then the ugly quietly emerges. Not always. Sometimes. In the end, art should bring joy to the viewer. And inspire a little reflection.


• Your future dreams as an artist?

I want to become more visible with my art. I want to develop much further.
I want to paint many pictures. Connect with others who know what happens when you embark on the process of painting a picture. I want to find and consolidate my own visual language! And yes, I'll say it out loud: I would like to sell more pictures. For more of my paintings to hang in other people's homes and bring joy there. And I wish I had more time for all the colors, shapes, and ideas I still have to bring to the canvas or other surface!