Stefanie Adis (born in 1988, Germany) studied art education and cultural journalism at the Universität der Künste in Berlin and had exhibitions in Europe (f. e. at the Wilhelm- Hack-Museum with Christian Jankowski and Joseph Beuys, among others). After working as a freelance journalist for the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the art magazine MONOPOL she knew that she no longer wanted to just write about her passion, she wanted to pursue it again. Adis works and lives in Gießen. 
Tell us your story, why did you become an artist?
I grew up in a small village in Hessen, Germany, 150 inhabitants, a bus that went to the next small town once a day, a pub and a hairdresser – that was it. Painting, drawing, being creative has always transported me to other places, to places that let me grow and from which I can learn. And they help me find my way back to myself. I need art to communicate. It is my language.
When you create a new work, how do you go about it? What comes first?
I start with an idea, an idea of material, color, feel and feeling. Then I pour liquid paint onto panels or canvases and work with concrete and pigments. The interplay between coincidence and intention is always present; the liquid paint cannot be controlled; it dries as it pleases. That's the best thing about abstract art, in my opinion: giving up control, surrendering to the process and reacting to what emerges.
What can you tell us about your studio, what makes it special to you and how does it influence the way you work?
After the birth of my son, it increasingly became my place of retreat where I can take a breath. Sometimes it's just 45 minutes a day that gives me energy for the entire week. My studio is in the house where my family lives. As a freelance artist and mother of a small child, this is a tremendous privilege, for which I am very grateful. 
Is there a work of art in your life that has especially impressed you?
It will come as no surprise: Yves Klein, “Relief éponge bleu”, 1960. I have visited it many times in the Städel in Frankfurt, and I have never stood in front of any work for longer. It's not just the ultramarine blue that Klein patented that shapes me. The use of the materials, everyday objects such as sponges and pebbles, which look like extremely enlarged pigments, is also fascinating and clever.
Reach to the stars: where will you be in 5 years?
Exhibiting in galleries across Europe and worldwide, in solo and group shows – and with my son on the floor in my studio, painting a picture with smeared hands.
Learn more about the artist:
