Art Focus: Andrea Offermann

Art Focus is a feature on Vinyl Pulse where we introduce an artist
along with a chosen example of their work. We hope to revive this
feature with an entry every other Sunday. At the recent Unicorn Show at Gallery Nucleus, I came across two paintings by Andrea Offermann, which I believed deserved a wider audience. 

Andrea Offermann:

I grew up in Germany and originally started studying medicine
there. In 2002, I came to the US to study art. I graduated a year ago
from Art Center College of Design and worked as a freelance artist. I
love old printmaking techniques, especially etching, and have a strange
obsession with drawing fish.

I think my medical background
really shows in all the work i do. There is always an interest in
history and science. When Nucleus asked me to do artwork for a show
themed "Unicorns" I was intrigued, because there is so much history
connected to the beliefs and stories concerning that animal. I
remembered that the horn of the unicorn actually comes from a whale,
and that it’s a tooth growing out of its mouth. I researched the animal
and found it to be very awkward-looking, a great contrast to the
elegance of the common image of unicorns, and I loved that. Through my
research I also stumbled across several historical events in Germany,
and decided to base my paintings on them:


"1711" is based on a historical report that in the year 1711
a narwhale swam all the way up the Elbe into the city of Hamburg. I
combined this historical event with an old belief that if a maiden
touches a unicorn, she will find true love. In the painting a large
crowd has gathered at the pier near the marketplace in Hamburg, where
the narwhale has been tied. All the young girls try to get into the
water to touch the whale, so they can find true love.


"Bargain" deals with another historical event. In the 16th
century the count of Beyreuth accepted  two long twisted horns as
payoffs for large depths which emperor Karl V. owed him. The horns were
believed to be unicorn horns and thought to be priceless. In the image,
a group of nuns accompanied by soldiers are crossing a forest. They are
guarding two carts with the unicorn horns on them. At the time
transporting goods was very risky because of robbers and feuds between
different counties.

To learn more about Andrea Offerman visit www.andreaoffermann.com