Manuela Hübner

Manuela studied philosophy, literature and art history in Paris and Cambridge. Mostly interested in the figurative, she makes the occasional foray into landscapes, still lives and sculpture. Manuela lived and worked in the UK for nearly 30 years. She exhibited widely in the south-east of England, worked for the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, and led workshops as part of a collaborative prison art partnership supported by the University of Cambridge. Manuela currently lives in Berlin.

There is always a pile of books next to her sofa… philosophy, psychology, neuroscience….
Our emotions, the human mind, the body, their connection… that's what inspires her work. Her findings are processed in the paintings… though the ultimate impulse, the final nudge to then pick up a pencil or brush always comes from the outside, from real people… people who somehow embody what she's been mulling over.
Manuela's paintings should be seen as an invitation… an invitation where the experience of artist and viewer meet.
When she paints, she avoids thinking about painting. Once there is an emotion or idea she wants to express she starts… no preliminary sketches, straight on… but without getting stuck on the subject… if it changes, it changes.
Manuela's way of painting is quite impulsive, explosive, in short, sharp bursts.
The same goes for choosing colours, or rather not choosing them… to quote the artist William Congdon… you just “toss a sea and fish for gold in it… It comes with courage and freedom.”