Angela Hampel

Angela Hampel (born 1956) is a German painter, graphic artist, and sculptor known for her expressive works depicting female mythological figures.

"Udine geht" (Undine Walking), sculpture by Angela Hampel in Dresden

Early life

Born in 1956 in Rächelwitz near Kamenz in the east German state of Saxony, Hampel trained as a forestry worker and heavy vehicle driver from 1972 to 1974. She then worked in forestry for the two years while studying art in evening classes at the Bautzen branch of the Dresden Art Academy. After spending a year arranging programmes for young people at the Kamenz culture centre, she continued studying painting and graphic art under Jutta Damme and Dietmar Büttner at the academy until 1982.[1][2]

Work

Starting in 1982, Hampel began independent artistic work in Dresden and Berlin. Inspired by Christa Wolf's Cassandra, Hampel's prints and mixed technique works feature Penthesilea, a warrior queen in Greek Mythology.[3] The art historian Karin Weber explains: "Angel Hampel's name is closely linked to the neo-expressive artistic movement in the German Democratic Republic in the 1980s when painters sought to intervene with formal ecstasy in the conflicts of the times."[1] In 1989, Hampel co-founded the women artists' association Dresdner Sezession '89, the first of its kind in Saxony.[1][2]

Hampel's sensually expressive works pose existential questions, evoking myths and legends. Her formal inventions present the power of women, coupled with provocation, rebellion and resistance in the traditions of Käthe Kollwitz.[4]

Hampel has also designed book covers both for paperbacks and exhibition catalogues such as that for the Dresden City Archives in 2014. She works with woodcuts, often waiting until she can get a board suited to her current work from a demolished house. She is also proficient in the art of algraphy or printing on aluminium plates, working with the many shades of grey between black and white.[1]

Hampel is based principally in Berlin and Dresden but spends much of her time mountain climbing, conquering some of the world's highest peaks.[1][4]

Awards

Hampel has received several awards including:[1][4]

  • 1990: Marianne Werefkin prize (reserved for women)
  • 1999: Special award: "100 Ausgewählte Grafiken" (100 selected graphics)

See also
  • Angela Hampel, Penthesilea, 1987-88, mixed technique on hardboard, East Germany. Albertinum – Galerie Neue Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlugen Dresden

References
  1. Grâtz, Wolfgang (April 2015). "Angela Hampel" (in German). Frankfurter Grafikbrief. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  2. Altmann, Susanne; Lozo, Katarina; Wagner, Hilke (2019). Medea muckt auf : Radikale Künstlerinnen hinter dem Eisernen Vorhang = The Medea insurrection : radical women artists behind the Iron Curtain. Culver City, California: The Wende Museum. p. 234. ISBN 978-3-96098-527-3.
  3. Altmann, Susanne; Lorenz, Ulrike (2011). Entdeckt! : rebellische Künstlerinnen in der DDR. Mannheim: Kunsthalle Mannheim. p. 14. ISBN 978-3891652213.
  4. ""Malerei, Grafik, Zeichnung" - expressive Arbeiten von Angela Hampel" (in German). eschborn.de. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
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