Tina Oelker is a painter whose practice is developed through long-term Painting Programmes.
Her practice is cyclical: she returns to forms, motifs and experiences from shifting positions, allowing them to expand, distil and transform through renewed perception. Within precisely defined fields, structure creates space for intuition and unexpected shifts. Painting itself is her field of inquiry. Over more than three decades, she has pursued an independent and rigorously structured practice, rooted in experience and sustained attention.
Oelker brings a precise and assured command of composition, colour and form to her work, grounded in analytical thinking, acute observation and a deep understanding of visual perception. Personal experience becomes a starting point for examining recurring human qualities, tensions and contradictions, giving the work an archetypal dimension. Across her Painting Programmes, individual works remain autonomous while entering into new relationships within an evolving artistic field.
Biography
Tina Oelker (born 1973 in Westphalia) is a German painter based in Hamburg whose practice has developed since the early 1990s through long-term Painting Programmes. These provide conceptual frameworks for an organically evolving exploration of colour, form and composition. Her programmes include 1000 Hasen, 25 Colours Stockholm and TOPIA. Oelker spends time in Italy and maintains close ties to New York. Her work is represented in private and public collections.
Collections
- Folker Skulima Collection
- Falckenberg Collection
- Tchibo Collection
- Dreier Werke
Selected Awards and Residencies
- Art Empire Award (2022)
- Noble Project (2010)
- AIR Residency NYC (2009)
Selected Exhibitions
- 2025 — 33 Bilder, Brook 3, Hamburg (Solo)
- 2024 — Art’partment, curated by Leo Lüpertz, Berlin (Group)
- 2022 — Pandora’s Box, Galerie OBEN, Hamburg (Solo)
- 2021 — Die Bank, Worms (Solo)
- 2019 — West of Where the Sun Goes Down, No Man’s Art Gallery, Amsterdam (Group)
- 2015 — The World Is a Pineapple and a Hare Lives in It, Alte Münze, Berlin (Solo)
- 2012 — No Man’s Art Gallery, Paris (Group)
- 2009 — European Hare, Gershwin Art Hotel, New York (Solo)
- 2007 — Animalia, Museum Kamen (Solo)
- 2004 — Beautiful People, 23 cr Gallery, London (Group)
Artist-run Initiatives
Alongside her studio practice, Tina Oelker has founded and directed independent artistic platforms and exhibition formats in Hamburg.
- Since 2022 — Kryptiker — Founder & Curator
- 2017–2025 — Gesellschaftsabende — Founder & Host
- 2010–2014 — Hafentor7, Hamburg — Founder & Director
- 2003–2005 — Durchgang, Hamburg — Founder & Director
Education
Oelker studied in Hamburg and New York, where she developed the interdisciplinary foundation of her artistic practice.
- 1998–2004 — Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW), Diploma in Design
- 1995 — School of Visual Arts, New York
- 1994 — The Art Students League of New York
