Heidi Koenig
"In my work, a solitary mark on a blank surface provides a meaningful starting point for an exploration of abstraction. The visual language I use in my paintings connects deeply to landscape – it is always the point of connection and departure."

My paintings are driven by observation of my environment and my emotional and physical responses to my daily surroundings.

Living and working near Dartmoor and the sea most of my inspiration now starts here. Whether it is the colour of a field in the distance, a cloud formation, or a rusty crane in a disused quarry, I find a lot of my inspiration while out walking and exploring with my dog. Previously having travelled to India, Australia and Asia the colours and experiences there are also still deeply ingrained in my visual memory and appear on a regular basis in my art.
When I begin a piece I do not always have a conscious idea of how I want it to look. Each piece evolves as I paint, and the process of painting transports me back to the place I was inspired by, bringing back the visual and sensory information I absorbed.
I usually start with a very thin wash of acrylic and apply some textured gel to add depth. I then paint with oils, using brushes, palette knifes, rags, sticks and anything else like washing up brushes to achieve different marks. My process is quite dynamic, often removing a mark straight after applying it.
In my studio, my workspace is a glass-topped workbench, which after a day’s work is always covered in colours I have mixed, brushes and pallet knives. I always paint more than one painting at the same time, letting the paint dry on one and working on another, before continuing the next stage on the first.
Working intuitively, I am forever altering and changing the framework within which I work, using colour to be spontaneous and strike out in new directions.
I build up each painting in layers, which can take days or weeks. Often, the hardest part is deciding when a work is finished and when it needs to be pushed, sometimes beyond the point of success.

Heidi Koenig
Born and raised in Germany, Heidi came to Britain in 1989, after travelling for two years around Australia and South East Asia. She now lives in Devon.
Education
1994 - 1996
Slade School of Fine Art - Postgraduate Diploma of Fine Art Printmaking
1991 - 1994
Brighton University - Degree in Fine Art Printmaking (First Class Honours)
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2019
The Presence of the Past - exhibition at Brook Gallery
2014
Without Boundaries - painting show at Brook Gallery
2009
Heidi Koenig at the Dutchy Square Centre, Princetown
2007
Show at Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, London
2006
Viewpoint Gallery, Monoprints
Plymouth College of Art and Design
2003
Inspires Gallery, Oxford
CCA Galleries, London
1998 - 2002
Enid Lawson Gallery
CCA Galleries, London
Selected Exhibitions and Group Shows
2018
London Original Print Fair at the Royal Academy
2018
London Original Print Fair
Cheltenham Art Fair
Sydney Contemporary Art Fair
2017
London Original Print Fair
Fresh Art Fair Cheltenham
2016
Fifty Years at the Wagon Yard
New Ashgate Gallery
Wetpaint Exhibition
Abstract Views
2015
RA Print Fair
Heidi Koenig and Simon Ripley, Brook Gallery
Affordable Art Fair, Hampstead Heath
2014
RA Print Fair
Affordable Art Fair, Battersea
Summer Show at Byard, Cambridge
2013
Innocent Fine Art - Heidi Koenig, Andrew Hood and Elaine Jones
Affordable Art Fair, Battersea
Print Fair, Royal Academy
Heidi Koenig @ Victoria Stewart Gallery, Plymouth
Affordable Art Fair, Hampstead Heath
2012
Affordable Art Fair, Stockholm
Affordable Art Fair, Hampstead Heath
Discerning Eye Exhibition, Mall Galleries - Selected Artist
London Original Print Fair
Affordable Art Fair, Battersea
Affordable Art Fair, Milan
2011
Affordable Art Fair, Battersea
Affordable Art Fair, Hampstead Heath
Affordable Art Fair, Milan
Art 2011, London
Spellbound - Amanda Pellatt and Heidi Koenig, Dutchy Centre of Creativity, Princetown
Printed 2011, Blackheath Gallery, London
2010
Affordable Art Fair, London
Peter Blake and Heidi Koenig Summer Show, Brook Gallery, Devon
Christmas Show at Wetpaint Gallery, Cirencester
2009
Spring Wind 2009 Art Front Exhibition, Hillside Forum, Tokyo
Autumn Exhibition - Howard Hodgkin, John Hoyland, Martyn Brewster, Heidi Koenig, Wetpaint Gallery, Cirencester
Autumn Show at Limekiln Gallery, Calstock
Brownston Gallery, Modbury
Hybrid Gallery, Honiton
Affordable Art Fair, London
2008
Brownston Gallery, Modbury
Affordable Art Fair, London
British Contemporary Art Exhibition Touring Group Exhibition, Japan
2007
Brownston Gallery, Modbury
Rostra Gallery, Bath
Art 2007, Business and Design Centre, London
The Affordable Art Fair, Bristol
Terracina Gallery Summer Show, Exeter
Original Print, London
2006
Art 2006, Business and Design Centre, London
Affordable Art Fair, London
Terracina Gallery Summer Show, Exeter
Modbury Summer Exhibition
2005
Heidi Koenig & Sir Peter Blake, Spring Exhibition, Brook Gallery
Small Originals, Gallery 22, Ashburton
Art 2005, Business and Design Centre, London
Summer Show, Oxford
Art Fair, Cannes
Art Exhibition, Dubai
2004
Originals 04, Mall Galleries, London
Affordable Art fair, London
Inspires Gallery, Oxford - two-person show
2003
Art 2003, Business and Design Centre, London
Affordable Art Fair, New York
2001
Art Expo, New York
Castle Galleries, Inverness
2000
Affordable Art Fair, Battersea
1999
The Wiseman Gallery, Oxford
Ozten Zeiki Gallery, London
1998
Art Futures at Art 98, The London Cntemporary Art Fair
1997
Print Exhibition, Barbican
1996
Royal Academy Summer Show
Postgraduate Printmaking in London. A Survey, Clifford Chance
Slade Printmakers Group Show, Duncan of Jordanstone, University of Dundee
1995
Federation of British Artists National Print Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
1993
Red or Dead, Showrooms Exhibition, Brighton
Blocks, Stones, Screens and Plates, Eye Level Gallery, Brighton
1992
Summer Exhibition, Brighton Museum
Images in Edition, Maze Gallery, Brighton
Awards & Commissions
2016
Design Commission for the Boardroom of Buzzacott - Art Acumen
2011
Design commission for Douwe Egberts
2008
Painting Commission for Scottish Widows Office, Bristol
John Lewis Riverside Cafe, Kingston
2004
Originals 04 Purchase Prize from the University of Aberystwyth
Painting Commission for Cinesite Offices London
1998
Print Commission for the Cromwell Hospital, London
1996
FBA National Print Exhbition, Mall Galleries, London
Zenith Gallery Purchase
Galleries Magazine Award
St. Cuthbert Paper Mill Award
Artichoke Print Workshop Award
Work in Public and Corporate Collections:
Sony Corporation, Bank of England, Cromwell Hospital, University of Hull, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, Pizza Express, Healy and Baker, British Telecom, Ejiri Hospital, Tokyo, The Arts Council, Brunel University, Cinesite, John Lewis PLC, Mercedes Benz, Standard Chartered Bank, Isle of Man Arts Council, Landmark PLC Collection
Heidi's work is also included in numerous private collections.
"The best days are when time stands still and I am flying with colour."