In this picture I use the methods of abstraction of painterly color worlds, of light and shadow from a whirlpool of particularly bright metal and color pigments. A particularly lively and graceful power is shown here, similar to that which I have often experienced musically. A leap outside, a new chapter that is pleasant. This wonderful picture with metallic colors on brushed aluminum, framed in a 0.5 discreet frame made of aluminum in gold, is for sale.

Hello Katharina! How did everything in the world of art start for you and what came first, music or painting?

And how did these come together?

Katharina: It started with my teacher saying: "I can't give you a better grade than an A for your drawing." He encouraged me with that and I felt a great passion for further artistic activities, for example taking on some festive activities for school parties, which gave me space for my creative ideas. Building ghost trains, a ball throwing system to knock over teachers depicted in a picture, etc. But I also, to everyone's dismay, sprayed the foam from fire extinguishers onto the walls of the auditorium as a work of art, or draped the stuffed animals from biology class in the trees outside in the pouring rain for an exhibition. So, they loved me and they hated me. In the end they let me leave school, even though I was classified as particularly intelligent in a test, simply because I was too different. But then I knew that I would become an artist.

I have been working as a freelance artist since 1983. As a percussionist, I have been playing concerts in various ensembles around the world since 1989. In 1986, I began studying and completing various training courses in sound engineering, with a focus on audio in the field of art, media and communication, and together with Marco Ambrosini, I founded the music and film production studio "Studio Katharco GbR". Since then, we have been working here on the synergy of image and music. My focus here is film and theater music as well as sound art for multimedia productions/stagings. See also www.katharco.eu.

The images have always been in focus, usually at the same time. Whether it's painting or photography or simply perceiving visual ideas while I'm working on music compositions in the studio or as a director in a production. For me as a synesthete, images and music are inseparable anyway. When I make music, I see images and when I see images, I hear music. So it's quite natural for me that an image also has a sound. But not everyone can hear it, so I use the sound images to make something audible for everyone.

Please tell me more about it, such as CG Jung's idea of the unconscious action in the second level and the resulting imagination of each individual, and how you challenge your audience to discover their own story in your art.
Katharina: My pictures can tell stories. For me, these sometimes arise as soon as the process has begun, or even develop later. When I sometimes ask viewers what they themselves have discovered in the picture, it never takes long before they let their imaginations run wild. This often creates new, personal stories, with their own character creations, and since everyone sees themselves and the painting in their own way, I think it happens on a different level. It is as CG Jung explains. For example, the theory that the unconscious has a much greater influence than conscious perception. What happens to people when they stand in front of a work of art? Are they looking for a connection? Do they feel a desire or does it give them an inspiring feeling? And why? What do they perceive? The artists, with their sweeping brushstrokes? The imagination and creativity? Is it the desire to be detached and free? To just do it? Or could it also be the effect of the colors? Something that reminds us of happiness, flowers, rainbows, the sky, or does it touch us in our sadness and it seems as if something is reflected, understood or perceived? In any case, it is deep within us that moves us in that moment, something that often cannot be explained. Artists are probably the same, they create because they are and because they can show it that way. If an art and a person feel attracted to each other, a relationship can develop and maybe they live together, happy and content, until the end of their lives... Haha.

What does a working day in your studio look like? Do you have rituals that help you get motivated or “in the zone”? be?

Katharina: Before I go to my studio, I often take a long walk, I let myself be inspired by the colors and shapes. I see a green, lush tree against a blue or wonderfully gray sky. A cube next to a round shape. Rough next to smooth. All of this inspires me to create something new. When I arrive in my studio, I go to the pieces I am working on and give them my admiration. I don't want to say here that I talk to my brushes and paints before painting, otherwise everyone will think I'm crazy.
I don't listen to music! When I paint sound, I listen to it beforehand, but when I'm working it's so quiet that I get a fright if someone comes in. My workspace is in rooms where music production and art are close together. So it's possible to switch from here to there quickly and that gives me great opportunities to express myself in a variety of ways. I also like working in the garden, where I can splash around.

Which aspects of your projects always give you butterflies in your stomach or make you curious?

Katharina: It's the project itself. When I plan the first small steps and then when it starts. When I meet other artists to work with them. When parts become more visible and you can already feel it. When I can be brave and big and humble at the same time. When the day of the performance comes. When people love what you have created, when you get the right respect and recognition. The whole process.

What was the coolest artist tip you ever received?

Katharina: “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” – Rumi

Have you ever experienced creative blocks? And if so, how do you overcome them?
Katharina: Yes, sometimes I think, oh dear, what if you run out of imagination, ideas or you can no longer be creative? But then I laugh and think: Nonsense! That never happens!

What is your most recent piece of artwork that you enjoyed working on?

Katharina: In the Sound Images project, it is a painting with music, it is called "The Guardians". It has a very special red color, deep, calming, shy and at the same time powerful and strong. Here, the collaboration with the Japanese Koto player Karin Nakagawa on the music for this painting was also very inspiring. She was able to connect very well with the painting. Her own culture also had a big influence. The most beautiful and important thing is to work together on art, that brings variety and creates wonderful events.

What advice would you give to aspiring artists on how to think outside the box and grow?

Katharina: It is important to be very open and respectful, courageous and daring, sometimes humble, that is also important. Don't try to imitate, that doesn't work anyway.
Then always have several jobs or art forms to guarantee variety on the one hand, but also to be more financially stable. Always keep learning, learning, learning. Invest more than you can. It's also fun to see everything in life as art or as a composition, that's the best state - cooking, brushing your teeth, walking, cleaning, being - everything is art!

Do you see your art as having a purpose beyond art?
Katharina: Yes, but I would still call it art. A therapeutic art. I firmly believe that we can save this crazy world with art. Art can provide therapeutic help, help you feel better, make decisions, enjoy yourself, free yourself, make yourself happy, the list is endless.
Everyone should surround themselves with art, it would bring a lot of joy into their lives. I have worked with my art in a therapeutic way for people with physical and mental illnesses. I have made music that matches their symptoms and painted pictures for them to support their healing process. Art with music to support healing is nothing new. It really is fantastic and it works.

What will happen next with Katharina?
Katharina: I will prepare new series and see how the art world receives my new ideas and of course do exhibitions all over the world.

A bright future for art!

Interview by Lisa Harris, Art Magazine. Translation Deeple.