GABRIELE SAUERLAND
ABOUT THE SOLO EXHIBITION
OPENING RECEPTION
FRIDAY 22. OCTOBER
18:00 - 21:00
LOCATION
BBA GALLERY
KÖPENICKER STR. 96
10179 BERLIN-MITTE
EXHIBITION
22.10 - 21.11.2026
OPENING HOURS
TUESDAY - SATURDAY
12:00 - 18:00
In her solo exhibition "IN / TENSION," Berlin-based artist Gabriele Sauerland presents a body of painting that powerfully navigates the space between figuration and abstraction. For the artist, the exhibition's title describes the existential state in which an image comes into being: it is the fleeting moment between inner impulse and outer reality, between conscious control and constant change. "IN / TENSION" does not function as a rigid theme, but rather opens up a dynamic working and conceptual space where unresolved contradictions intentionally coexist, allowing the painting to develop its own direction. The title elegantly plays with the dual meaning of material "tension" and the artist's "intention." Sauerland's clear intention is to narratively capture the existential and emotional fields of tension in our lives: this is exemplified when she explores situations where pressure and coercion arise from all sides. Through her paintings, she tells the story of the importance of protecting one's own space outwardly, but above all, protecting one's own ego.
Sauerland radically translates this inner tension into her working process and materiality. In her mixed-media paintings, she completely eschews the use of brushes; instead, she treats her surfaces canvas, cardboard, paper, and wood in a purely experimental manner, using spatulas, diverse materials, and full physical engagement. Her paintings evolve through an intensive, process-driven act in which layers are heavily built up, reworked, discarded, or left as visible traces of earlier states. This raw, gestural materiality reflects the profound depth of her thematic explorations. Social issues, biographical experiences, and precise observations form the starting point for her works. In pieces such as "Femizid" (Femicide) or the "Apocalyptic Horses," she addresses urgent social matters like violence, war, and scarcity, while works like "Schwerer Kopf" (Heavy Head) speak poignantly of exhaustion pushed to the utmost psychological limit. She has no desire to resolve the sometimes eruptive tensions that emerge within the material, they are an inseparable part of the painting.
AVAILABLE ARTWORKS
ABOUT THE ARTIST
BORN IN THE RUHR REGION, GERMANY
LIVES AND WORKS IN BERLIN
Gabriele Sauerland, born in 1956 in the Ruhr region, uniquely intertwines architecture and fine arts in both her biography and her practice. Following her artistic beginnings in 1974 and her time working in the studio of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Meisenheimer, she developed an early understanding of how strongly architecture, painting, and sculpture function as interconnected fields. After studying architecture in Düsseldorf and working for decades as a freelance architect with formative periods spent on Formentera and in the Lower Rhine region, she relocated to Berlin in 2014. Even during intensive phases of architectural work, she continued to paint continuously. Since 2024, she has been stepping back into the public eye with her multifaceted paintings. For Sauerland, a painting is never a mere representation, but rather an open counterpart: "The picture seeks the viewer, just as the viewer seeks their picture".
Education & Training
1980
Period of collaboration in the studio of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Meisenheimer. Early development of architecture, painting, and sculpture as interconnected fields of work.
1981 – 1988
Studied Architecture in Düsseldorf.
1988 – 1990
Worked at an architecture firm while painting continuously in parallel.
1990 – 1991
Founded her own architecture firm, worked as a freelance architect.
Group Exhibition
2025
Studio 0211 Posh Vision, Düsseldorf.
Bridging Cultures – Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Kühlhaus Berlin.
2005
Women in Art (Studio Trio Exhibition), Studio Q Zyfflich, District of Kleve.
1999
Galerie van Heesch, Kleve.
1994
Painters from Formentera, Blue Galerie Mönchengladbach.
1994
Sculptural and Painted Signs (Duo Exhibition), Micro Hall Art Center Edewecht Klein Scharrel.
1992
6th Artists' Salon, Museum Haus Koekkoek, Kleve.
Solo Exhibitions
2025
Midsummer (Curated Studio Solo Exhibition), Berlin.
2022
Work Groups (Studio Solo Exhibition), Berlin.
2017
Works + Series (Studio Solo Exhibition), Berlin.
2011
Architecture + Painting, District of Kleve Culture Days, Hotel Zur Kranengasse.
2008
Architecture + Painting, Studio Q Zyfflich, District of Kleve.
1995
Works Formentera, Cadilhac Art Gallery, Formentera, Spain.
1991
Works Formentera, House of a Collector, Düsseldorf.
1989
Painting from an Architectural Aspect, Architecture Office K. Roebrock, Bocholt.
1989
Figurative Works + Symbolism, Kunsthaus Elbers, Kleve.
1987
Medical Congress, Hotel Hilton Düsseldorf.
1985–1988
Triad, University Dermatology Clinic, Düsseldorf.
1985
Figurative Painting, Kellergalerie 195 E. + G. Laws, Kleve.
Art Fair
2026
Art Vision 2026 Expo Corner, Exhibition Grounds Hannover.
2025
Discovery Art Fair Postmesse Cologne.