Anna Dian

My preferred artistic medium is…
… currently painting and drawing. However, I also enjoy working with installation, video, sound, text, and performance.

My art in three words…
“World-inner-space.” This is a metaphor by Rainer Maria Rilke that has accompanied my creative work for a long time.

My artistic practice revolves around…
… exploring my relationship with the world and engaging in creative interaction with the environment, other living beings, and myself through art. For me, the focus is on process, experience, and on an intuitive, experimental approach. Particularly important to me is the engagement and connection with natural places and the living beings found there—whether plants, animals, fungi, or, more recently, rock formations. I try to learn from these encounters. In my works, I make the traces of this contact, my sensations, and the insights I gain visible and pass them on. In this way, I seek to explore how artistic processes can help us reflect on and, if possible, reshape and experience our relationship with the environment on both an individual and societal level.

I draw inspiration for my art from…
… various natural places where I spend time—forests, floodplain landscapes, the sea, or, more recently, limestone caves. These especially fascinate me and have inspired a new series of paintings and drawings. My approach is to immerse myself in nature and spend time in these places without initially intending to create anything. I simply engage with the location, observe, feel, and take in what is there. Most of the time, the urge to translate these experiences into a drawing, painting, or even a sound piece arises naturally.

Regarding the use of materials, it is important to me that…
… I use materials thoughtfully and, if possible, reuse them. My goal is a sustainable art practice, which is why I am currently trying to recycle old works or use second-hand textiles as painting surfaces. I still have many acrylic paints from my time at university, which I want to use up. At the same time, I am experimenting with making natural pigments myself. I am also looking for sustainable alternatives for painting surfaces—both of which are actually quite simple. Earth, dried and finely ground leaves, or flowers mixed with oil or water can create wonderful colors that even have a scent. My wish is that most of what I create will eventually decompose completely.

My studio in the Creative Cluster is a place where…
… I feel comfortable and deeply appreciate. It allows me to exchange ideas with other artists while also offering space for retreat and complete focus on my art. This is the first time I have had so much personal space in a shared studio, which has been extremely beneficial and has positively influenced my practice.

My greatest artistic achievement so far has been…
… my diploma exhibition and the works I created during my time at the academy. I received a lot of appreciative feedback at the time, which moved me deeply, especially seeing how touched visitors were by my works and the dialogues that emerged. It was wonderful to see that the connection I aim to create through my art actually worked.

The transition from studying to an independent artistic career is for me…
… challenging, but also important and liberating. I am in a process that I am gradually growing into. I am learning to build a new structure for myself, network with other artists, and actively seek feedback—all things that were taken for granted at the academy. I feel like I am currently reorienting and developing myself in this phase, which I find an enriching experience.

The feedback that has shaped me the most…
… came from my professors Martin Guttmann, Michael Höpfner, and Saskia Te Nicklin at the Academy. They made me realize that making art is an ongoing, ever-changing process that can constantly take on new forms and be expressed in different media. At the same time, within this process, it is important to reflect, continuously become aware of one's artistic position, and thus remain true to oneself.

If I could give aspiring artists one piece of advice, it would be…
That’s difficult to answer because there are so many ways to create art. I believe it is important to take time to pause, reflect on one’s artistic practice and motivations, and try to write about them. This can not only help in understanding one’s artistic direction but also open up new perspectives for one’s work. Equally valuable is exchanging ideas with other artists, giving and receiving feedback, and gaining new impulses.

An idea or artistic project I am looking forward to realizing…
I am very excited to participate in the community art project Residenza Lab in Italy this year, which explores what we as individuals and as a society can learn from plants. Additionally, I would love to realize an exhibition with my current works and, as part of it, invite visitors to a sound performance in a limestone cave. However, I won’t reveal yet how it will sound or where exactly it will take place.

www.annadian.com