Volkmar Hoppe - Muhital, DEU
Born 1958 in Griesheim, Germany. I studied design at the Darmstadt University for Applied Arts (Fachhochschule Darmstadt) and at the Design University in Offenbach (HfG). Since 1983 I am working as Illustrator, Designer and Artist. Until 1994 I also had a teaching Job at the Darmstadt University for Applied Arts.
In the recent years, art became more important for me than my commercial design projects. I am the head of a local Illustrator´s organisation, where i organize the international guest part of our yearly exhibition in Darmstadt. I also was involved in curating some other exhibitions, like the anniversary of Shining Labor, a well known Berlin based Silkscreen Printshop, who mainly prints for Illustrators and Artists. Silkscreening has always been a constant part of my work. A couple of years ago, when we had a short boom for hemp paper in Germany, I thought that this is an interesting material to print on. Hemp was used for papermaking in the old times before wood was used for it. And if you feel the pristine quality of books printed in 1750 and compare it to the quality of a book from 1880 you can see and feel the difference. hemp paper is extremely longlasting which makes it a perfect material for art.
My art cruises around cutouts. So the title of my last solo exhibition was "The Outcuts“. I use cutout- masks for airbrushing on canvas or etching into marble. The idea of drawing lines into mid air also keeps fascinating me. This is achieved by laser cutting into steel, paper or plexiglass. I also like the aspect of getting new random shapes as cutaways, which i don´t
see as "outcast“ (hence the word game) but as a source for new ideas. I like to experiment with new materials and tools and I am looking forward to create something fascinating with hemp.