Isabel Reitemeyer

1966 born in Nordhorn, Germany. Since 2002 living and working in Berlin. Isabel Reitemeyer studied visual communication at the University of Applied Sciences in Münster. Before turning her focus on collage, she worked as a printer, freelance graphic designer, and artistic assistant on renowned German and international film productions, including Mogadischu, Das wilde Leben, and Der Vorleser. Reitemeyer's collages have been published on numerous record and magazine covers and shown in exhibitions worldwide—including at renowned institutions such as the Bröhan Museum Berlin, the Museum Böttcherstraße Bremen, and the Frauenmuseum Wiesbaden.

Artistic Statement

In 2007, I discovered collage as a medium. I work analog and prefer images from the period between 1960 and 1990, when books and magazines were not yet produced digitally. I tend to work impulsively and like things to be neat and calm. At least on paper. I try to express a feeling with as little material as possible, but I also explore how much I can leave out in order to obtain a meaningful image. What inspires and interests me artistically is often that which does not conform to the norm—the other, the unsettling and irritating, that which happens beyond perfection. My artistic work is, on the one hand, an examination of what is happening around me, but at the same time also a reaction to global events.

What others say about me

Isabel Reitemeyer's collages are disconcerting and yet strangely familiar. Attracted by an image, usually of a person or animal, Reitemeyer cuts away essential elements that determine our interpretation. She covers eyes so that they no longer direct our gaze, merges dissimilar images, or isolates fragments. She does not embellish images—she reduces them. In search of an essence, she creates entirely new beings: animals transform into fluffy balls or disturbing chimeras, models are swallowed up by their haircuts. Thin slivers of paper give rise to entire worlds. By refusing to conform to the norm, her extraordinary images challenge our viewing habits. Leonor Faber-Jonker, 2022

Leonor Faber-Jonker, 2022