Gerd Leins
Gerd Leins's art moves within a field of tension between presence and absence. Like an unknown racer zipping through the curves at 300 km/h, Leins also pursues the idea of the self – always searching, never quite there. His work cannot be forced into a fixed category. The central theme of his works is the fleeting self, which is constantly in flux and ultimately fades away.
Leins conceives of life as a moment embedded between "nothingness." Our consciousness exists in this moment. It is a time of solitude in which the self affirms its existence in the presence of others. This fragility of the self is reflected in his works, which play with memory and transience.
A recurring motif in his work is the use of obituaries, which he pastes onto the canvas and then covers in layers. Initially, the message of the obituary is clear and legible, but over the course of the process, it is increasingly erased—the words disappear until only the empty space remains. Leins works with black and white colors, which emphasize the ambivalence of memory and the extinction of the past. What remains is a feeling of emptiness and yet also of perpetual transformation.
Another characteristic element of his work is the reference to Color Field Painting, as developed by artists such as Morris Louis and Helen Frankenthaler. However, Leins goes a step further by incorporating this formal language into his own, sometimes provocative "zipper paintings." He breaks with the classical dimension of painting, thus opening up new perspectives and interpretations.
“What do we ultimately have left in this world?” asks Leins. Perhaps everything – and at the same time nothing. The ashes turn to ashes. The art of Gerd Leins invites us not only to look at this moment of transience, but to feel it. In his online gallery , art lovers can discover Leins’ works and buy art online . Whether as part of a collection or as a unique statement in one’s own four walls – Leins’ works are more than just objects, they are an invitation to rethink questions of life, self and memory. Anyone who wants to use art to create an atmosphere of reflection will find in his pictures a space for profound exploration of transience.
In 2024, Gerd Leins was awarded the "Annual Chinese Celebrity Art Prize" in China . The prize was presented by Mr. Yan Xi, China's most important literary poet.
