HUNDHUND Studio Visit: Kim Bartelt.

 Over a glass of white wine in her evening-lit studio in Wedding, Berlin, Kim Bartelt told us her story. Of developing her practice, of coming of age in foreign lands, and of course, navigating life in this strange pandemic world.

Bartelt may have been trained as a fine artist, but at a certain point, her sensibilities led her away from using paint as a medium, instead opting for paper on canvas as her means of expression.

“Even when I was painting, I was painting layers to achieve the desired semi-transparent effect, and to keep every step visible.”

And although she is originally from Berlin, her artistic development is found elsewhere, between Paris and New York, after leaving Berlin in search of new inspiration.

“Berlin felt quite grey and aesthetically not very pleasing during my childhood and adolescence. The post-war architecture made me long for more warmth and history.”

So she made the move to Paris to study art history, where she was “introduced to classical beauty… Renaissance/Hausmannian architecture, decorative arts, antiques, well dressed people, fine restaurants, boulevards, beautiful interiors and lots of art.”

But the cultural elegance that Paris offered her was flipped on its head when she moved to New York to continue her studies at Parsons.

“Everything was raw, wild, fast, loud and rough.”