DRAWINGS
2000 – 2016
There are about 280 drawings from 2000 – 2016 that exist in a physical form. The originals are all made on A4 paper. Some of them also exist as wall drawings or larger ink drawings. I see them as the “first batch,” and we published several books to showcase them. The second “batch” will come hopefully in the future. Meanwhile, I produce some digital drawings for my Instagram handle @olafbreuninglife. Maybe some of them will end up on paper. In contrast to all other media I am working with, drawing is the most simple of all. I need only a table, a sheet of paper, and a pencil, and I am ready to go; the world of immediate thoughts is mine. Although my drawings are without masterful skills, the ideas are essential and sometimes take a lot of time, requiring tranquil space and focus. I tried many ways to achieve this; I crossed the Atlantic on Queen Mary 2 twice and popped some Adderall in my former massage parlor studio on lafayette in manhattan. (What did not work out as planned.) However, I am not someone who always draws; I need time and space for it, a particular condition of life that is unfortunately not always available. Please go to the main page and select “drawings” to see all of them.
BOOKS
First Book – Sketches for projects
At the beginning of my artist career, I drew sketches to visualize my ideas for upcoming photoshoots and projects. I carried around a notebook with doodles of ideas in it. The first book, published in 2001, was based on sketches resulting in photographs or sculptures.
Drawings Publisher: jrp Editions Release Date: June, 2001 Format: Softcover, 216 x 279 mm Features: B/W, 68 pages ISBN: 2-940271-09-7
Second Book: Queen Mary I
It would take a few years to realize that I could also have ideas on paper without a physical follow-up production in mind. I developed a language of my own and gave my drawings a simple touch of uncomplicated illustrations about life and the world. I don’t have any drawing skills, making the sketches very simple and easy to read. The confusion and complexity are more in the message itself. My work, in general, is never pretentious but has an aftertaste of “wait for a second, what is going on.” For a show at the gallery Air de Paris, I planned to produce around 50 new drawings. We also planned to publish them in a book. I decided to make a six-day one-way trip with Queen Mary 2 from New York to South Hamptons, England. And it was perfect! During the day, I could work “like a monk” in my small room and join the giant ship’s entertainment machine in the evenings. It was stimulating, and I produced all of the drawings without any problems. Besides, it was a lovely experience to cross the Atlantic at a reduced speed to relate to the distance between Europe and America.
Third Book – Queen Mary II
It seemed I did not have enough from my first trip on the Queen Mary 2. I had to do it again. The reason was an upcoming show at my New York gallery Metro Pictures in 2009. Although meanwhile they installed internet access on board, I did not check any email or surfed the internet during my whole trip. And again, it was the perfect situation. I guess already 2009; it was an issue that the permanent internet access makes us somewhat unfocused. In the future, if I will work on new drawings, I always will find a creative way to stay focused and not be disturbed by the constant blast of information.
working situation on Queen Mary 2, 2009
Queen Mary II Publisher: jrp/ringier Release Date: 2010 Format: Softcover, 216 x 279 mm Features: B/W, 152 pages ISBN: 978-3-03764-160-6
Last Book – Olaf Breuning Drawings
2016 I decided to make one big drawing book with all my drawings so far. The “Olaf Breuning Drawings” book did not include the sketches from the first publication in 2001. The hardcover book was a twin book of the one year earlier published monography about my work. This book gave closure to “the first batch” of my drawings. In general, I like to form a structure around my works since I produced many different things over the last 25 years. It makes it easier to keep track of the past.
WALL DRAWINGS AND SCULPTURES
As I mentioned above, a few of my original drawings ended up as wall drawings or sculptures. Please go to “shows” and check out “Yes? No?”, Kunstmuseum Luzern, and “Small Brain, Big Stomach” at Metro Pictures.
T-SHIRTS AND MERCH
I have to work on this section. Over the years, I produced many T-shirts collaborating with fashion labels, magazines, musicians, and art institutions. The drawings ended up on pins, stickers, salt and pepper shakers, onesies, and many other objects.
Not all the drawings have to be physical. Instagram offers the immediate effect of publishing new drawings into the void of nonimportance. Somehow I like it, don’t ask me why. It’s like a sketchbook for future original drawings.
EDITIONS
I made a few drawing editions with galleries, museums, and edition houses. I will follow up with this section a little later when I have more studio assistants!
ANIMATED DRAWINGS & NFT’S
NFT is a new platform for animated and electronic art. Not that I see myself as a part of it, but I do enjoy animating my simple drawings. On this note, I have to mention that the current NFT world looks like another universe to ordinary art people. It requires different creative motivation than most contemporary artists have at the moment. Just one of the several doors opened up in the creative space. Highly interesting and more to come. Please check out here.
