MgA. Gerda Josef / Neuruppin (*1981)

I studied painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Ostrava, in the studio of Professor Daniel Balabán.

I am NEURUPPIN, a painter focused on expressive figurative painting, with an emphasis on authenticity, spontaneity, and introspection. My practice is grounded in an intuitive process, and I regard painting as a medium for inner experience and personal expression.

I work without photographic references and remain independent of visual trends and social media, in order to preserve a pure and original artistic voice. My key sources of inspiration include primal rawness, the tragicomic nature of the everyday, absurd experiences, and hallucinatory records of gesture and moment upon canvas. I paint for joy, for myself, and for the discerning viewer who is willing to pause and engage with the untitled narrative of an image. I deliberately avoid black, as I see colour as an adventure.

I am captivated by the technique of oil painting over an acrylic base. In the illustration, I was captivated by the development of imagination through adding details to spots using black and white ink (previously with black and white markers).