San Mateo County Times - May 31, 2007
Column by Bonny Zanardi

Dual identities of German-American artists explored in show

'DOPPELGÄNGER," a group show of German American Artists (GAA), opens today at the 1870 Art Center in Belmont. The works explore the influences of two worlds, two homes — Germany and America — on the artists. The show's title relates to a feeling of living in "parallel universes," with the influence of the artists' German upbringing and education interwoven into their artistic expression, no matter how long they have lived in America.

Werner Glinka, executive director of GAA, notes, "The interaction and the interrelation of two different environments and cultures that we are part of sharpen our eyes, provoke criticism, lead to compromises and ask for continuous re-orientation." The work is "to be understood as a product of critical analysis as well as a condensed form of storytelling — about the dual soul." Glinka, along with Bay Area artists Inge Infante and Ines Tancre, founded GAA in 2005. It has expanded to include Silke Henkel-Wallace, Natasha Jülicher, Susanne Kaspar, Bertolt Schmidt, Heike Seefeldt and Julian Voss-Andreae.

A resident of Woodside, Glinka grew up in the industrial town of Gelsenkirchen, where he became an electrical engineer. In 1981 he came to Silicon Valley and worked as an engineering and marketing executive. His art form is assemblage, combining sleek modernist Bauhaus influences with a Japanese landscape aesthetic.

Infante studied mathematics in addition to art, photography and graphic design. Her work includes painting, drawing, printing, photography, computer graphics and collage.

Tancre, who lives and works in Hillsborough, earned a Ph.D. in linguistics. As the wife of a diplomat, she has had the opportunity to live in Iran, Korea, Sierra Leone, Canada, Norway, Egypt and Italy. A stay in Rome in 1995 inspired her to see art as a priority in her life.

Henkel-Wallace studied graphic arts in Germany and in Boston, earning her degree at Emerson College. In 1997 she moved to Paris, where she developed an interest in 19th-century art. After returning to California, she continued study of 19th-century techniques, primarily with Jim Smyth. Today she is "busy rebelling against" those figurative and academic traditions.

Jülicher was raised near Muenster, where she developed an appreciation of nature. At 21, she moved to the U.S. to study sculpture at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, earning her bachelor of fine arts degree in 1996. She currently divides her time between San Francisco and Europe.>

Kaspar, born in Silesia and raised in a small village in the Neckar Valley, came to the U.S. in 1966. She has been working as an art and commercial photographer for 30 years.

Schmidt, a professional industrial product designer, holds a degree from the Duesseldorf Art Academy. In addition to his product design work, he also is active in painting and graphics. Schmidt is especially interested in the possibilities that computers bring to his creative work. He lives in Berlin and San Francisco.

Seefeldt, a professional scenic artist, earned her M.F.A. from the University of Fine Arts in Dresden, Germany, specializing in theater arts. She has worked for renowned theaters in Dresden; Vienna, Austria and Lucerne, Switzerland. Her Bay Area work includes California Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and American Conservatory Theater. Since 2005 she has been running a painting business, pintofpaint, in San Francisco.

Voss-Andreae is a sculptor based in Portland, Ore. He painted for several years, then switched to studies in physics at universities in Berlin and Edinburgh. He turned again to art after coming to the U.S. in 2000, graduating with a B.F.A. in sculpture from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2004.

You can meet the artists at a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. June 9. "Doppelganger" continues through July 15. The 1870 Art Gallery is at 1870 Ralston Ave. Hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays, or by appointment by calling (650) 595-9679. Visit http://www.germanamericanartists.com.