Karin Hillmer is a German-born artist now based in Portugal. Her work blends photography, collage and painting to create new realities - poetic, mysterious and thought-provoking. Exhibited worldwide and held in private collections, her art invites viewers into a unique universe of imagination.

 

Already early in life Karin began experimenting with collage images which later extended to her photographic process.

With diplomas in French and English she left Germany. After brief stops in Brussels and London she settled in New York. It was there that she reconnected with her interest in art, finding inspiration in the halls of great museums and obscure galleries alike. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History.

 

Influenced by studies in painting, drawing and black and white photography she developed her unique collage-style within the medium of photography. Initially, her images were created in black and white until a diagnosis of leukemia put an abrupt end to darkroom activity. Recovery and completion of a Master Degree set her free to explore new ways outside the darkroom. With her natural curiosity and perpetual experimentation she mastered the technique of the fragmented images by using glass plates to create unexpected reflections and multiple layers of surfaces.Objects began to take on their own certainty and new realities were created in an unreal universe. Through her business knowledge in the fields of technology and biotechnology she brings novel concepts and developments to her work, which is combined in a unique way with historic elements. She is a painter, a photographer and above all a storyteller. Her pictures represent a new reality, maybe a “surreality”, shaped by lifelong interest in philosophy, history, art, invention, music, poetry and science. Her images combine the avant-garde with the historic, have a deep intellectual reference, are enigmatic and humorous, mysterious and original. Today Karin Hillmer has embraced digital photography which provides almost no restrictions to her creativity. This new expression is only limited by the imagination of the artist and the expertise of using the technology.

In 2021 Karin moved her studio to Portugal. Her images are printed in limited editions with ultra-chrome archival inks on archival papers which are expected to last over 100 years. Her work has been shown internationally in museums and galleries, with solo exhibitions in Germany, France and the United States. Karin’s work can be found in numerous private collections throughout the world.