Bernd Ribbeck

Charisma and Ecstasy

Bernd Ribbeck (b. Cologne, 1974; lives and works in Berlin) is one of the most promising creators of abstract art today and often described as an exponent of “New Constructivism.” His small-format abstract paintings lend a fascinating depth and aura to shapes such as circles, ellipses, and triangles executed in lush colors. In a time-consuming creative process, Ribbeck works on primed fiberboard panels with acrylic paint and ballpoint and felt-tip pens before coating everything with a layer of white lacquer, much of which he subsequently scratches off. The resulting luminously colorful panels possess a forceful physical presence. The geometric and often symmetrical compositions he builds out of complex layerings of surfaces and lines reflect his engagement with a wide range of modernist aesthetic strategies in the work of artists such as Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, and others associated with the Bauhaus as well as the paintings of Robert Delaunay and Hilma af Klint. Yet despite these references, his work has the distinctive and timeless quality of genuine outsider art.
The book, which includes an essay by Oliver Koerner von Gustorf and a conversation between Sabine Schaschl and Bernd Ribbeck, showcases a representative selection of more than 125 works from all periods in the artist’s oeuvre.