Overpainting History

by ​Reiner Heidorn

Deutschland 1815-1918

Deutschland nach dem 2. Weltkrieg 190x230 cm

Weltreich Roms 170x230 cm

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Reiner Heidorn is a German painter with a focus on freshwater microorganisms, plants, and chlorophyll. Using his own technique, he translates the pointillism of microscope photographs into abstract expressionism. He also collects natural materials and uses leaves, twigs, and blossoms as print templates for his abstract, botanical pictorial spaces.

Reiner Heidorn has collected old school maps and paints them over, including maps from the Nazi regime. In doing so, he aims to keep historical memory alive and take a stand against denial.

The schoolmaps’ erased borders and re-coded place-names evoke questions of jurisdiction and education. Overlaying botanical-water motifs transforms these surfaces into a lagoon-like field where memory can flow and refract light.

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