Christiane Middendorf                       

1961 born in Essen
1981 German “Abitur“/commercial
1987 Studies in education science in Hagen
1990 Studies in various art forms
1993 Studies in creative designs of the informal, color painting, free painting
1995 Private studies with freelance Slowak artist and private lecturer Angela Ramsauer
2003 guest studies in the master class „free painting“ with Professor Qi Yang at the Institute for Education of Fine Arts and Art Therapy, Bochum
2004 member in the research group "KunstQuadrate.Essen", culture office Essen

Dialogue with the Viewer :

The individuality of the viewer everytime releases the broad spectrum of color sensations. Therefore it is the viewer who can experience himself when looking at the painting. Not the painting itself but the sensations of the viewer constitute a value. This emphasis shows itself in the expressionistic brush style. The original in the movement, the depth and the color composition find their platform and extend an invitation to plunge into extremes.
Therefore every viewer time and again is invited to discover something new for himself. It is this experiment which always creates a multitude of different impressions that, for me, constitutes the thrill of painting. Not the well defined but the ambiguous is intriguing.

By means of strong texturing in many of my paintings I try not only to establish plasticity in the paintings but also to create an ever-changing interpretation of colors. Light is refracted at the edges as individually as in the multi-layered color coatings. This expressive strength enables the viewer to perceive the paintings everytime in a different way.

For me, not the interpretation of my paintings is primarily important, but the view and the possibility of evoking emotions from the viewer. That is why the dialogue between viewer and painting is so vital.
It is the eyes of the viewer which create art for himself in an individual way and which Interpret the allure of the painting. In this sense paintings are mere instruments used by the viewers to experience themselves and to let something new come into existence.

The agitation of the colors together with the texturing and the incidence of light constitute the overall context, which cannot be avoided by the viewer. The expressive paintings give leeway for interpretation and are the source of ideas of one's own.