Elke Buegler
Potsdam, Brandenburg
I am a self-taught abstract artist who celebrates the interplay of intention and instinct, composition and chaos.
Message
Elke Bügler reveals her inner world and her thoughts on the defining questions of life through a spontaneous and dynamic painting style that can be described as a dance between intention and purpose, composition and chaos. With her art, she opens a dialogue with the viewer that addresses the unconscious and emotions through archetypal fragments and structures. Using a predominantly monochrome colour palette and deliberately expressive coloring, she encourages us to pause and reflect on the theme not with our minds, but through a connection to ourselves, listening to our inner voices.
Elke Bügler was born in Anklam, Germany, in 1968, into a family with a long-standing musical tradition. She spent her childhood in a small village with her mother and often visited her grandparents on their farm, an experience that had a lasting influence on her. Although she no longer plays an instrument, music has remained a constant companion.
During her school years in a small town in the former GDR, she developed a thirst for knowledge and diverse creative talents, particularly in painting and design, as well as clothing design and sewing. Supported by her art teacher, she took extracurricular painting classes and an entrance exam at the Berlin Weissensee Art Academy. However, she discovered that most of her fellow applicants had more experience, as well as active contacts with artists and the art scene in East Berlin, which she lacked entirely. Furthermore, her social circle did not view art as a profession, let alone a viable career option, and her stepfather was dismissive of it. Combined with her strong desire for independence, all of this led her to make the rational decision to pursue a down-to-earth education.
What remained was an unfulfilled desire for creative activity, which had taken a back seat due to conditioning, her career and her family. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, however, she pursued a demanding career in project controlling at an architecture firm, dedicating herself to self-study despite never having studied.
Thanks to her now-adult daughter, she found her way back to art. Her daughter, remembering her mother's stories, gave her a joint art event with an artist for Christmas, followed by two more. When the artists leading the sessions remarked that Elke had clearly been painting for a long time and was probably accustomed to working on larger canvases, mother and daughter just smiled without saying a word. This became the initial spark. The purchase of a few paints and small canvases quickly turned into a journey of unstoppable creative self-expression. Through painting, Elke found a connection to herself that she had not previously experienced. The artist Elke Bügler, who wants to encourage reflection through her art.
As before in her career, she is teaching herself everything she needs to know: how to work with colours and materials, the fundamentals of colour theory and art history, and the principles of business and marketing. Equipped with mature life experience and a clear sense of her priorities and artistic vision, she has embarked on her artistic journey with unwavering dedication.
After posting her artwork on Instagram in 2023, she made her first contacts with curators and small galleries. She had her first group exhibition in Istanbul, Turkey, that summer. This was followed by the launch of her own website, and further group exhibitions in Germany, Italy, the UK and France, as well as digital and online exhibitions worldwide. In 2025, she received regular inquiries from galleries and wider attention, and was awarded several prizes, including the 2025 Premier Artist Prize and the 2025 El Greco Fine Arts Award. In 2025, she was interviewed and had an art review and other publications, with more in the works for 2026. In 2025, she also received the Denis Diderot Grant and confirmation of a highly sought-after artist residency in France for the summer of 2026.
In February 2026, Elke Bügler's first solo exhibition will take place in Berlin, initiated by the artist herself. The exhibition is dedicated to a central theme of her work: the cycle of life. It draws on her own experience and explores the subject from a spiritual yet modern perspective. The artworks will be created specifically for the exhibition, forming a series entitled 'The Circle of Life', which will also serve as the exhibition's title.
Statement
I am Elke Bügler, an expressive abstract artist living in Potsdam, Germany. My joy in creative expression literally took on a life of its own when I began to express myself in colors and textures on canvas. This art has challenged and captivated me, and I follow it unconditionally.
Even as a child, I was very curious and always read a lot to satisfy my thirst for knowledge. However, I soon discovered that every question answered always raises new questions or leads to further facets and perspectives that then need to be explored. I am inspired by the fundamental questions of life, existence and our impact on the environment. Where do we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? What does it mean to live? What can we achieve? How can we develop as conscious human beings? Life as a human being in philosophical, scientific and spiritual terms.
Through my art, I explore these questions in the present moment, considering our influence on life and the Earth. My work is shaped by my life experience and my desire to understand life. Witnessing the moment of my mother's death had a profound and life-changing effect on me. It was an experience that shook me to the core, touched me deeply and changed my perspective forever. Translating these themes into my art has enabled me to reflect more deeply than mere reading, understanding and thinking, thus allowing me to gain deeper insights.
With my art, I aim to engage all conscious and art-interested individuals by using my artwork to encourage them to explore the subject matter.
Based on the assumption that the unconscious carries the wisdom of this world within itself and produces clearer insight, I see my art as an opportunity to reach other people on this level. I communicate through colors and shapes to address the subconscious and emotions, thereby evoking deeper reflection.
For me, the process always begins with the idea of the theme I want to portray. My artworks are characterised by clear content, brought to life by abstract elements and emphasised by intense colours.
Since my studio is also my living space, I work with acrylic paints. They are versatile and highly pigmented. I now prefer to work with thin layers of paint, i.e. glazes in similar shades, complemented by impasto elements and textures. I use a palette knife and spatulas for the details and broad brushes for the background and large areas of colour. I also like to experiment with unconventional materials to create special effects and accents.
The fundamental elements of my art are forms and structures that are understood as archetypal, depicted either clearly or abstractly, or a combination of both. I base the composition on a dominant colour and use a few additional shades to develop the expression. I often reduce the composition to one color in nuances, monochromatic, inspired by artists who express themselves through their exploration of color and its effects.
I was moved by the artistic work of Hilma af Klint, who translated her own vision of understanding life in order to present it to humanity. She also incorporated archetypal elements into her abstract compositions and colour schemes.
My art thrives on the tension between colors and the various elements of an image, some of which appear deliberate and others random. With each piece, I embark on a creative process, allowing the artwork to unfold gradually and organically. Independent of trends and influences, this is how my personal expression and distinctive art emerge.