Maike Abetz

Art between dream and reality

I wanted to be the woman who speaks, through her paintings, about taboos like death, God, and the transitions in between—the in-between that can only be felt. When I paint, I lose myself in it.

Painting has always freed me from earthly stigmas. Now, having had to accept that I came into this world alone and will most likely cross over alone one day, I feel strong enough to continue living the new chapter of my Resurrection.

Düsseldorf benefits from Berlin, which, in some places, is already collapsing into a vacuum—like an airless lung. Everything has been drained away.

All my life, I have carried everything on my shoulders in order to achieve the best possible outcome. My new series as a solo artist also deals with what women have been expected to endure, and the burdens they took upon themselves in order to gain reach. Alongside it comes a new abstract series—another reinvention in my painting. Now that everything is connected, I see how it all stands in a strong dialogue with one another. Abstraction has always been present in my work, but now it stands entirely on its own. I find that exciting, and I continue—because now I simply must paint.

I will never be a mass-produced product for the market—nor are my paintings made for that.

They are the fire of my soul.