Lecture: April Gertler

April Gertler is an artist based in Berlin, Germany.  Her resume is expansive; she earned her BFA and MFA in photography, and has exhibited her work in many international galleries.  During the lecture, Gertler started by describing her recent works. She has been involved with some photography, but her passion seems to be with collage. Her collages are created from mixed media, and she described the satisfaction of finding the local materials that she would use with her collages, such as old books, magazines, and thread.

One of her projects she adopted as not only an artistic exercise, but as a complaint against exorbitant art prices: she would compose one of her collages, and then sell it for 38 dollars or Euros. She appreciated that there was no art dealer involved, and that anyone who wished could be art directly for a reasonable price.

One of her most recent works, an art book called Damp Patches, is a collection of collage, photography, and drawings that was made possible by funds from a Kickstarter project.

Many of Gertler’s collages have a whimsical feel to them, while at the same time adding a personal touch through found photographs and issues important to Gertler. She takes a lot of inspiration, as well as materials, from her present locations, and she has an interest in the local people involved in her projects.

Gertler discussed her art for a short time, but it seemed that her real passion is for Picture Berlin, an art program that she funded in Berlin. She discussed at length how the program worked, its benefits, and its ideal situation in Berlin, a town that places a heavy emphasis on the arts. She has a great love of art residencies, having spent time at many of them, and her appreciation for them fueled her to create the program in Berlin.

Although Gertler enjoys her art, the lecture impressed upon its listeners that her true calling is bringing an artistic community to others.

When Gertler answered questions, I asked her how Europe inspired her work, as opposed to living in the U.S, because she is so inspired by location. She replied that traveling through Europe enabled her to rely less on her own materials, and to use found objects and materials. She also said that she started to rely less on titles to label her art.