Who I am
I am Magdalena Hohlweg, an artist of collages and assemblages made from found objects.
I live and work in Bad Pyrmont in the Weserbergland.
Many of my materials are so small and inconspicuous that you hardly notice them in everyday life: seed pods, dried plant parts, scraps of paper, press studs or other random fragments. I am constantly discovering small remnants when I go for walks, on forest paths or sidewalks.
For many, they are crumbs, waste or trivial leftovers. For me, they are potential protagonists. Our world is a real grab bag.
In my works, miniature collages and assemblages are created from seemingly meaningless found objects. In just a few square centimetres, small pictorial spaces grow out of them, in which fragments of nature, found objects and drawings react with each other.
Or to put it more simply:
I stick pretty strange things on paper – but with great dedication.
Collage, assemblage and found object art
My works move in the field of tension between collage, assemblage and found object art.
I work with so-called objets trouvés – overlooked found objects from nature and everyday life: seed pods, plant remains, plastic fragments, scraps of paper or other small remnants.
In the tradition of collage, these materials are brought together on paper. At the same time, my works follow the idea of assemblage, in which individual fragments are combined to create new spatial contexts.
I am not only interested in the individual object, but above all in the relationships that arise between things.
Seemingly insignificant fragments are turned into collages of natural materials, in which small pictorial spaces are created and the inconspicuous becomes the protagonist.
Between the cabinet of curiosities and the world of images
Unlike in historical collections, however, I am not interested in presenting things in an orderly fashion. I reinterpret the found objects, place fragments from different areas in new contexts and allow them to communicate with each other.
At first glance, many of my works are reminiscent of small natural history cabinets or cabinets of curiosities:
In just a few square centimeters, found objects from nature and everyday life come together and develop surprising relationships with one another.
I regard each individual piece as a sculptural element. Through fine line drawings, seed pods, buds or other found objects are expanded into independent protagonists – they grow together into lively scenes in which unexpected encounters arise.
This creates pictorial spaces that are less like a collection than a living habitat: fragments of nature and remnants of civilization lose their original boundaries and begin to tell new stories together.
Or to put it more simply: I don’t just collect things – I bring them into conversation with each other.
How my work is created
Most found objects stay with me for a long time before they find their place in a work.
When collecting, I am initially interested in their form, their surface or a particular texture. Only later do individual fragments begin to relate to each other. Then combinations emerge, from which small scenes gradually grow.
The fine drawings combine and expand the materials – individual fragments become figures, insects, bird creatures or other idiosyncratic characters.
At first glance, the pictorial spaces sometimes look like natural history studies. Only on closer inspection do other contexts and surprising scenes become apparent.
I am particularly interested in things that normally receive little attention. Many of these things have an unexpected form, structure or originality. In my miniature collages of botanical fragments and found objects, they are allowed to show exactly that.
Short profile for gallery and press
Magdalena Hohlweg works with collage, assemblage and drawing. Botanical fragments, seeds and inconspicuous found objects are used to create pictorial spaces on different scales, in which observation of nature and fantasy are condensed into miniature worlds.
(This short text can be used for press or exhibition contexts)
In the 1990s, I started as a self-taught artist with my own ceramics workshop in Dorsten and developed sculptures using the build-up technique.
After a few years, my path initially took me in a completely different direction: from 2000 to 2007, I managed a computer store. However, my artistic work remained an important part of my life and continued to develop in new directions during this time.
In 2008 I moved to Hamburg and finally returned to art completely. Today I work as a freelance artist again, currently living in Bad Pyrmont, Lower Saxony, and am continuously developing my series of [UN]apparent worlds.
As an autodidact, I use the freedom to combine materials and methods without fixed rules – an advantage that I have learned to appreciate more and more over time, as I work with found objects that are reluctant to adhere to categories anyway.
Exhibitions
My work has won several audience awards and was nominated for the Art Prize of the City of Fürstenwalde in 2018.
Collages from the [UN]Apparent Worlds series have been shown in exhibitions in Florence and Venice, as well as in the Natural History Museum in Bielefeld and in museums in Bad Pyrmont and Bad Arolsen.
You can find more information on exhibitions and projects here. Here
Invitation to discover
The [UN]apparent worlds are constantly growing – just like my collection of idiosyncratic finds.
If you have become curious, you can view my current works in the workroom or subscribe to my subscribe to my newsletter. There I occasionally tell you about new collages, exhibitions and the found objects from which new micro-worlds are created.
Every found object has its own story – that’s why none of my collages can be created a second time.
