Verena Freyschmidt

Like a moss-like network, amorphous forms spread across the wall. They grow as open structures, their edges resembling rugged coastlines.
The color palette of finely coordinated anthracite gray, velvet black, forest floor green, blue-gray, ochre red, and off-white associatively situates the organically shaped forms within the realm of nature. Ideas of tree bark, lichens, and stone grains germinate in the mind. Approaching the works of the artist Verena Freyschmidt more closely, one discovers that the macrocosm of the overall form contains a microcosm of delicate structures. Gradients and intensifications of color, hatching in white, and sequences of lines drawn with ink combine to create a design that is both abstract and simultaneously ignites the imagination. As when contemplating clouds, entire worlds can be discovered within them. The smallest element of the rhizome-like forms consists of lines, countless lines. In their seemingly endless repetition, they condense into individual formations that merge together into a larger structure. This overarching structure is reminiscent of fractals in its composition. Fractals are geometric patterns that exhibit a high degree of self-similarity, which occurs when a structure consists of smaller copies of itself. The copies need not be identical; fractal geometry can also be applied to natural elements such as trees or coastlines. This analogy explains the strange familiarity emanating from Verena Freyschmidt's works—for their inherent aesthetic is one known to humankind since time immemorial, as it determines the structure of the world around us. Thus, the artist explores the connections behind all things through her work. Without becoming representational in the sense of realistic painting, she addresses the fundamental structures that constantly repeat themselves on both a small and large scale.
Text: Anne Simone Kiesiel

The artist, born in Frankfurt am Main in 1975, lives and works in Hanau and Offenbach am Main. Following her studies in history and art education in Giessen, she pursued art studies, first in Mainz, then at the Düsseldorf Art Academy under Helmut Federle. Freyschmidt is one of the three winners of the 2025 Paper Art Award, presented by the Museum Haus des Papiers – Bildende Papierkunst (Museum of Paper Art), Berlin.

Born 1975 in Frankfurt/Main. Lives and works in Hanau and Offenbach/Main.

Awards and Grants

Solo exhibitions

Group exhibitions