Reiner Heidorn

Deutschland Under Der Hitler-Diktatur 1933-1945#

Europa Nach Dem 2.Weltkrieg 1945-1970#

Artist’s Statement#

Reiner Heidorn collects old school maps and paints them over, including maps from the Nazi regime. In doing so, he aims to keep historical memory alive and take a stand against denial.

The schoolmaps’ erased borders and re-coded place-names evoke questions of jurisdiction and education. Overlaying botanical-water motifs transforms these surfaces into a lagoon-like field where memory can flow and refract light.

“Growing up amid Germany’s layered history, I am formed by guilt and responsibility. My work interrogates how national narratives are remembered, and how the past persists in the present through images.”

About the Artist#

Reiner Heidorn is a German painter with a focus on freshwater microorganisms, plants, and chlorophyll. Using his own technique, he translates the pointillism of microscope photographs into abstract expressionism. He also collects natural materials and uses leaves, twigs, and blossoms as print templates for his abstract, botanical pictorial spaces. His work has been exhibited internationally in numerous shows and galleries throughout Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Brazil, Taiwan, and the United States.