Moving Art Colony

Since November 2018 the artist Gerd Lepic and his wife Uta Schnuppe Strack are traveling through Europe to visit the different Artists' Colonies. On his blog Gerd Lepic documents this unique experience.

"How did you get the idea to do the trip?"
In addition to my work as an artist, I have worked for more than 30 years as a psychotherapist with a focus on trauma therapy with creative media. Last year I became seriously ill and had to work shorter. I decided to use this period of rest for traveling. When traveling, I have always visited artist locations. Last but not least, my partner Uta Schnuppe-Strack and the experiences I gathered during the International Artistic Meeting, which took place from 12 to 24 June 2016 in the EuroArt artist colony Murnau under the umbrella of the European organizations, were decisive for the project MOVING ART COLONY in EUROPE Artist colonies, euroArt took place. In Murnau, the European idea became visible: people from different European cultures came together to work together in a peaceful and respectful way. After this experience, I set myself the goal of contributing to greater cultural understanding and cooperation in the European context. Working as a clown and painter, Uta Schnuppe-Strack has finally encouraged me to embark on a journey to European artist colonies, artists' venues, and meet contemporary artists as MOVING ART COLONY.

"What's so exciting about artist colonies and artists?"
I was born in Würburg, where there was also an artists' colony. During my childhood and adolescence, I came into contact with the works of several artists who worked on the "New World" (Erich Heckel, Alfred Kubin, Otto Modersohn, Hans Purrmann). During my studies I learned more about the character of the artist colonies from my teachers Ilse Selig and Helmut Booz. I visited Worpswede and then spent some time thinking of starting a community. In part I was able to realize the idea in the 1980s in the foundation of a group of painters in the Würzburg Artists' Salon 77. To this day I feel similarities with the historical artist colonies, above all the yearning for an unbroken connection between man and nature. This longing has also been reflected for a long time in my pictures, for example in the depiction of plant people.

Download the Exposé (only german)

The Route: