Interview with the artist Irene Wieland

This summer Irene Wieland changed her usual studio with the charming, light flooded Rotes Haus where the Brücke artists used to paint.

What impresses you most around you?

I get most inspired by the little things in life. Through my art I shape these influences into open-ended stories, transforming the original thought into a new feeling. 

Does your work reflect you as a person? In which ways?

Definitely. I work very intuitively; the shapes and beings I draw flow effortlessly from my quill. They are phantastical beings, somewhere between human and animal, deeply rooted in nature and always with a life of their own.

What was the most beautiful place you ever visited and why did it mean so much to you?

To me the most beautiful is being near water. Or anything flowing, liquid, constantly transforming, mirroring. In fact I feel wonderful, joyious and very relaxed here at the Rotes Haus by the Dippelsdorfer Lake. Also the flowing hills in Tuscany near Siena gave me this blissful sensation. 

What is something you are really looking forward to?

Encounters with people, who laugh, who are happy. Meeting Friends. And the ever changing seasons! I always look forward to flowing change and transformation. 

What where you like when you were 12?

I was very shy. I only felt truly comfortable around very few friends; big crowds frightened me. *Laughs* all this has changed when I grew up.

Tell us something you've learned so far being on Earth that you think is worth sharing?

The most important is to listen and to have the patience to let experiences happen naturally.

What are some of your dreams?

To spend more time outside and observe life as it happens. Being here by the Lake I found it fascinating to see humans interact with nature. My observations immediately translate into new shapes and emotions that I use as fuel for my work. 

Tell us something you treasure (person, place, thing, animal, idea)?

All living that is close to me.

Who are some artists whose work you admire?

David Hockney, for sure. I have been touched and inspired by his work since the beginning of my career. His giant trees are genious, so is his colouring, his observation of grass.... 

What is something you really want to do some time?

I would like to return to the same place again and again and see it transform and change with time, and with the seasons.