Johanna Bath

Johanna Bath lives and works in Hamm, Westfalen.

Artists statement:
I like to describe my art as somehow classic but with a twist. I really enjoy painting faces and figures realistically and in someway „oldschool“ but like to mix it with clashing colors, plants and flowers and geometric patterns. Rather than just reproducing something that can be seen in nature I like to improvise, mess it up, leave sections rough and unperfected and combine contradictory elements. I start my paintings with this spark of inspiration such as an interesting face, a nice color combination or an object I find appealing. It’s like this deeply felt urge to paint something. I approach the process of painting like a child’s play - I never know what the finished piece will look like and I rather go by trial and error than doing sketches beforehand. The best paintings to me are always the ones I get totally lost in and I can barely tell how I painted them or why - the whole process is almost like a spiritual experience.

I think I produce good work when I am in a total state of flow, when I get lost in the brushstrokes and the colors. It then feels like I am connected to a creative source that I just need to trust. The moment I step back and ask myself why I painted something I loose the magic and whenever I think too much, the painting gets stiff and looks somehow „wrong“ and staged.
So when it comes to „explaining“ my art and getting to the meaning of any of my paintings, I am just as blank as someone who sees the paintings for the first time. However I do reflect about life a lot when painting. I guess, creating something is just another form of thinking about things I wish to understand, such as purpose, meaning, time, timing and anything that is related to me as a human being.

CV

Education:
2000-02 Bildkunst Akademie Hamburg, Ausbildung Illustration/Communicationdesign.
2002-07 University of Applied Science Hamburg (HAW Hamburg), Department Design. Illustrationdesign with focus on painting, Diploma.

Selected Exhibitions:

Solo shows:
2019 "Johanna Bath, neue Arbeiten", Part2Gallery, Düsseldorf
2019 "Vanish into thin air", März Manufaktur, Paderborn
2018 "hold your breath - count to ten", Maxipark Hamm
2017 BTZ Bielefeld
2016 Hotel Traube Tonbach, Baiersbronn
2016 Schloßhotel Monrepos, Ludwigsburg
2016 "nexus", Stadtmuseum, Historisches Rathaus Warendorf
2013 "Hello Stranger", Stadthausgalerie, Hamm

Group shows:
2020 "the best of", Gustav-Lübke-Museum, Stadthausgalerie Hamm
2019 The Other Art Fair Brooklyn, New York
2018 Raum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Alte Spedition, Gladbeck
2017 Raum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Alte Spedition, Gladbeck
2017 Roundtable Essen, ArtEssen Zeche Carl
2017 UFAM Ruhr, Rathausgalerie Essen
2016 Roundtable Essen, ArtEssen Zeche Carl
2016 Kunstroute - Le Tour Belgique, Köln
2015 Roundtable Essen, ArtEssen Zeche Carl
2014 Roundtable Essen, ArtEssen Zeche Carl