BEHIND THE SCENES

Sketchbook: Christoph Niemann

A glimpse at the artist’s thought process by way of his work.

(Photo: Christoph Niemann)

Grasping hands that presented themselves 15-20 minutes—and multiple pages of paper—after Niemann first sat down at his drawing table.

Christoph Niemann, Artist and Illustrator

At Niemann’s studio in Berlin

“Art is self-generated. Illustration is based on an assignment: Someone needs a drawing of X, Y, and Z. If you apply that definition to the Sistine Chapel and the Mona Lisa, they are purely illustrations because they were made in a given size for a given assignment. But are the Sistine Chapel and the Mona Lisa Illustrations? I don’t know. By that definition, yes.”

Niemann will be honored for his receipt of the School of Visual Arts’s annual Masters Series Award with the exhibition “The Masters Series: Christoph Niemann,” on view at The SVA Chelsea Gallery from Sept. 30–Nov. 4.

All Stories