I see my paintings as natural phenomena
— Tatjana Valsang
Tatjana Valsang (b. 1963, St. Tönis) is a German painter whose work is characterized by a sustained investigation into the relationships between color, form, and spatial perception. Through a process-driven approach to abstraction, she has developed a distinctive painterly language grounded in material sensitivity, layered construction, and long-term formal research.
Valsang studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where she was influenced by the conceptual and material approaches of Klaus Rinke and Dieter Krieg. Following her studies, she worked for an extended period outside the public spotlight, dedicating herself to experimentation and the focused refinement of painterly means. This prolonged phase of independent work laid the foundation for a mature and cohesive body of paintings that continues to evolve through careful attention to process and perception.
Her paintings are developed through a wet-on-wet technique that allows colors to merge, dissolve, and re-emerge across overlapping layers. The chronology of the working process remains visible, as translucent strata of paint record successive stages of application. Valsang often works with the canvas laid horizontally, incorporating gravity, fluidity, and controlled gesture into the formation of the image. The resulting compositions suggest depth and movement while maintaining a sense of lightness and openness.
While Valsang’s forms may evoke organic or biomorphic associations, they do not function as representations of nature but emerge from the interaction between deliberate painterly decisions and the inherent behavior of the medium. Color operates in her work as a physical and spatial element rather than a purely optical one, producing luminous surfaces that balance density and transparency. This apparent ease is underpinned by a rigorous command of technique, allowing chance effects to unfold within clearly defined parameters. Her paintings reflect an ongoing engagement with painting as a temporal and physical process, in which an intensive dialogue between brush, pigment, and surface mediates between openness and resolution, emphasizing painting as an autonomous field of inquiry grounded in perceptual and experiential complexity.
Valsang first exhibitied with Konrad Fischer Galerie in 2011. Since then, her work has been presented in institutional exhibitions including the Krefelder Kunstverein (2025), the Ludwig Museum Koblenz (2023), the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf (2022), and the Von der Heydt-Kunsthalle (2013).
Valsang lives and works in Wuppertal, Germany.