Leif Trenkler

Leif Trenker, a graduate of the Städelschule in Frankfurt, is considered an important initiator of the New Figuration movement in Germany. In his works, which oscillate between realism and surrealism, the artist, who lives and works in Cologne, examines the effect of light and shadow on architecture, landscapes, and figures. There is deliberately no clear differentiation between fiction and reality, which becomes evident in the expressive and intentionally overdriven use of color in his pictorial worlds. Thus, through a poetic sense of reverie, he disrupts the ordinary, architectural, or natural space and draws in an exciting, fantastical dimension, where the mere visual quality fascinates and at the same time represents his unique style. His paintings on birch wood are instantaneous moments, where figures are mostly depicted in the foreground. Thematically, his work focuses on childhood memories, street and nature views, and scenes of everyday life and parties.