Tulla Stables artist Exposed in Munich

THE current artist in residence at the Tulla Stables Art Studio, German native Katja Wittmer, is returning to her native city with her latest exhibition, Exposed.

Katja has been waiting patiently to manage to get the go-ahead from the prestigious English Garden, Orangerie exhibition space in Munich to display her work there.
The 37-year-old has travelled extensively over the years but now calls County Clare her home, due largely to her art residency in the Tulla Stables Art Studios and moving to Ennis with her husband, Bernard MacOscair, who is from the county town.
Katja admits that apart from receiving a multi-national education in both Germany and the United States, she was able to experience foreign cultures and mentalities, which enriched her life immensely on a personal and professional level, as well as being the basis for much of her artistic inspiration.
Her formal education consists of a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Auburn University at Montgomery, USA, which she received with cum laude honours in 1997. During her studies, Katja was awarded the prestigious Betty Hood Poormann scholarship for artistic excellence. After finishing her studies, the artist left the southern states and has been travelling the world and working in numerous countries ever since.
She says her art is her medium to express personal thoughts, emotions and philosophies. In recent years, Katja’s paintings have been shown in exhibitions all over the world, including the USA, Germany, Austria, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Katja explains the main aspect of her artworks, which are mostly mixed media on canvas/paper and digital prints, is nakedness— not only physical nudity per se but more extensively the subject of emotional and psychological nakedness.
“Fears, experiences and states of mind are manifested and revealed through body language. In her paintings, she asks questions, which through individual association, confront the spectator with his or her own subtle and concealed emotions,” she adds.
Her works deal with the human body being medium and stage for joy and sorrow. “Through my art, I try to show the complex facets of humankind – ups and downs, lights and shadows, love and hate.”
Katja has been that artist in resident in that Tulla Stables Studio for 18 months and is due to hold the position for another two years at least.
Prior to that, she was the artist in residence at The Custom House in Westport.
“Being the artist-in-residence means that I have 24-hour access to a unit there, which facilitates me with a workspace. It gives me some place to work and a location to hang my work, as well as plenty of opportunities to interact with other artists. Last month, we held an open studio, which went very well and was a great opportunity for me and other artists connected with the studio to promote our work,” she comments.
Katja recalls that as a child, she had a huge interest in art and was drawing from the age of four, or possibly even younger.
“There are no other artists in my family but my grandfather drew for his own enjoyment and as a hobby but not in a structured way or as a career. I nearly always seemed to be drawing as a child and I knew from a very early age that I would be an artist. There is nothing else that I would want to do,” Katja says.
She adds that the Munich exhibition is a significant event for her. “The Orangerie in the English Garden is a key exhibition space for artists and attracts considerable media and review attention, so it’s an opportunity for me,” she explains.
Her first catalogue will also be published at the exhibition. “This is an overview of my work, in which about 40 pieces are included. An art historian also reviewed some of my work and that’s included in the catalogue. The exhibition and the catalogue are major things for me and definite steps forward in my career as an artist.”
She is also very happy to be bringing this exhibition, Exposed, to her native city.
“I am very content living in Clare but there’s always a comfort in going back to where you came from. It will be good to see old familiar places and catch up with old friends of course too and I’m hoping the local community and media will like my exhibition and be supportive of my work,” Katja says.
The artist is travelling to Munich this week to set up the exhibition, which starts on Thursday, October 14 and will run for two weeks.