Travelling the world – The Solingen artists’ colony / In der Welt unterwegs – Die Künstlerkolonie Solingen
By boat, train and car to Venice, Trondheim and Luxor: The three main protagonists of the Solingen artists’ colony, Erwin Bowien (1899-1972), Bettina Heinen-Ayech (1937-2020) and Amud Uwe Millies (1932-2008), travelled the world painting landscapes, cities, people and street scenes – views some of which can no longer be found today. Their starting point and recurring centre of life was the ‘Black House’ in Solingen, an established meeting place for artists and intellectuals since the 1920s. Contrary to the contemporary artistic trend towards abstraction, they painted figuratively and saw themselves in the tradition of plein-air painting and the artists’ colonies of the turn of the century. Impressions of involuntary journeys and experiences of flight also reflect places in their history. A journey around the world – through the eyes of three very different artistic personalities who were closely connected.
Image: Erwin Bowien (1899–1972): Im Vaporetto in der Lagune von Venedig, 1954, Privatbesitz
