Heidrun Rathgeb
Heidrun Rathgeb’s practice celebrates - in her words - ‘moments that feel like daily epiphanies’. Whether drawing from the dramatic landscape surrounding her home or capturing intimate moments within domesticity, Heidrun’s small-scale paintings and limited edition prints explore ‘states of being’ within today’s often frenetic world.
Heidrun works using a range of traditional and contemporary printmaking techniques including woodcut, etching and monoprint. Hand-printed outside the confines of a commercial studio, each individual print is characterised by unique variations inherent in the fluidity of the printing process. Her painting and printmaking practices are closely linked. In Heidrun’s words: ‘With some of my paintings I think – I have to go further, I have to turn them into something else again, and that would be the starting point for a woodcut. I see it as a process…from a drawing, to a painting to a print. I make a woodcut when I feel the need for deep concentration in working…it’s almost a zen-like type of concentration – that’s what reduction woodcut demands’.
Heidrun was born in Germany but moved to London in 1993 to study at the Byam Shaw School of Art followed by the Slade School of Fine Art, London. Her work has been exhibited in regular solo and group exhibitions in the UK and internationally. Travel is key within her practice; she has undertaken artistic residencies in Norway, Denmark, France, Scotland, Spain, Italy and India. Oliver Projects exhibited Heidrun’s prints at the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair every year since 2021. John Martin Gallery, London, presented the first solo exhibition of her paintings in the UK. A solo exhibition of Heidrun’s work was presented by 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel in New York, USA (March 2023); a solo exhibition of paintings followed in Sydney, Australia, at Day 01 Gallery (August 2024). Most recently, her work was on show at Paul Smith’s flagship store in London as part of a group exhibition, and in Bruton, at a joint exhibition presented by Bo Lee and Workman (May 2025).
Heidrun currently lives and works in rural south Germany, with views from her home of Lake Constance and the Alps.
Shop works by Heidrun Rathgeb
Lithograph with monoprint and hand-colouring, 48 × 36cm
Heidrun Rathgeb’s practice celebrates - in her words - ‘moments that feel like daily epiphanies’. Whether drawing from the dramatic landscape surrounding her home or capturing intimate moments within domesticity, Heidrun’s small-scale unique and limited edition prints explore ‘states of being’ within today’s often frenetic world.
Heidrun works using a range of traditional and contemporary printmaking techniques including woodcut, etching and monoprint. She often draws figures from life, whether at home or in nature, using family members captured in quiet domestic moments as her subjects.
Purchased works are usually despatched within three working days.
Mezzotint, 19.5 × 22cm, edition 3/10
Heidrun Rathgeb’s practice celebrates - in her words - ‘moments that feel like daily epiphanies’. Whether drawing from the dramatic landscape surrounding her home or capturing intimate moments within domesticity, Heidrun’s small-scale unique and limited edition prints explore ‘states of being’ within today’s often frenetic world.
This mezzotint is number 3 from a limited edition of 10. As is characteristic of the mezzotint technique, the surface has a velvety quality with deep contrast between lights and darks. This contrast heightens the cabin’s illuminated windows, and the moonshine overhead, with other more subtle details emerging from the composition. The starting point for this work was a drawing made by the artist in Kvamskogen, a mountainous area of Norway. It is titled on the reverse.
Purchased works are usually despatched within three working days.
Monotype, 28.5 × 21cm
Heidrun Rathgeb’s practice celebrates - in her words - ‘moments that feel like daily epiphanies’. Whether drawing from the dramatic landscape surrounding her home or capturing intimate moments within domesticity, Heidrun’s small-scale unique and limited edition prints explore ‘states of being’ within today’s often frenetic world.
Heidrun works using a range of traditional and contemporary printmaking techniques including woodcut, etching and monoprint. Hiking and camping in the landscape often inform Heidrun’s imagery, where she makes drawings, continuing to work on the image back in her studio. She also draws from life, using family members captured in quiet, domestic moments as her subjects.
Purchased works are usually despatched within three working days.