Armin Dietrich

Berlin-based artist Armin Dietrich creates raw, physical paintings that oscillate between figuration and abstraction, offering a tactile counterpoint to our increasingly digital world. His current series, "When Words Fail Me: I Speak in Color," preserves painted memories of friends and role models as visual memory logs, transforming intimate encounters into works that explore mortality, vulnerability, and human connection. Working primarily with his hands in a process that embraces both control and chance, Dietrich creates layered surfaces inspired by Berlin's peeling facades—urban palimpsests that embody renewal and impermanence. His practice speaks a language beyond words, one of color, touch, and memory that affirms the power of authentic, tactile experiences in our contemporary moment.

Dietrich's artistic evolution began with his breakthrough series "UNCLAD" in 2017, presented in curated group exhibitions and solo shows across Europe. Published as a limited-edition book featuring text by Mark Gisbourene, "UNCLAD" marked a pivotal moment in his practice. The 25-part series deconstructed photography into its essential elements—light, color, and material—before reassembling them in unprecedented ways. The resulting works appear as transparent and translucent paintings that seem to float before the wall, creating a unique hybrid between the photographic and painterly mediums.

Building on this foundation, Dietrich unveiled "GODS and MONSTERS" in 2018, exhibiting the series in prominent galleries throughout Hamburg and Berlin. This body of work represented his definitive transition into abstraction, further pushing the conceptual boundaries established in his earlier practice.

The evolution of Dietrich's artistic vision reached new heights with "TRACES of RITUALS," first presented in 2019. This 20-part series revealed the profound influence of 1960s performance and conceptual art on his work, masterfully weaving together image and action to create multilayered experiences that transcend traditional categorization.

This period of exploration ultimately led Dietrich to fully embrace painting as a central medium, marking his transition beyond the confines of photography into a practice that celebrates both medium and statement in contemporary art.