Early Life and Professional Training

Bernd Koberling was born in Berlin, Germany, on November 4, 1938. His early years were shaped by the landscape of a city undergoing profound transformation, as he grew up amidst the ruins and the subsequent reconstruction of Berlin. Before finding his way into the studio, his path took a much more practical turn. Between 1955 and 1958, he completed an apprenticeship as a chef, learning a trade defined by precision and physical labor.

This professional life in the kitchen continued for many years. Bernd Koberling practiced as a chef until 1968, maintaining this vocation even as his interest in visual expression began to take root. It was a period of steady, disciplined work that preceded his formal entry into the world of fine arts.

His transition into academic study began in 1958, when he enrolled at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Berlin. During his time there, which lasted until 1960, he studied painting under Max Kaus. This period of formal training provided the foundation for the expressive visual language he would develop later in his life, marking the beginning of his shift from the culinary arts to the canvas.

Artistic Movements and Early Career

After completing his studies in Berlin, Koberling began to find his footing within the evolving German art scene. In 1961, he became a member of the group Vision, working alongside Karl Horst Hödicke. This period marked the beginning of a career defined by a departure from the highly intellectual and conceptual art that dominated the era. Instead, he leaned into a more subjective and expressive visual language. His early recognition grew steadily, leading to him being awarded the Deutscher Kritikerpreis in 1970.

By the 1980s, Koberling had become a central figure in the German Neo-Expressionist movement, often referred to as the Neue Wilde. He was considered a co-father of this movement, which sought to bring a sense of raw emotion and spontaneity back to the canvas. While many of his contemporaries focused on urban or social themes, his work began to pull him toward the natural world. He used the energy of the Neue Wilde to explore the essence of flora and the landscape, creating a style that was both deeply personal and visually immediate.

Travels and International Residencies

Koberling’s life has been shaped by a constant movement between the urban bustle of Germany and the quietude of the natural world. After his early studies, he spent the years from 1961 to 1963 in England, a period that offered a departure from his life in Berlin. This was followed by a significant time in Rome, where he was a fellow at the Villa Massimo from 1969 to 1970. This residency allowed him to immerse himself in the atmosphere of Italy before he eventually settled in Cologne, where he remained until 1974.

Since 1977, a specific rhythm has defined his creative life. Every summer, he travels to Iceland to spend several months in a state of self-imposed isolation. He finds a valley in the eastern part of the island that has become as essential to him as his studio in Berlin. This connection to the North is profound. He uses his time in Iceland to create watercolours on paper, which act as visual memories for the larger paintings he later works on in his Berlin studio. The contrast between the teeming metropolis and the stillness of these landscapes provides the energy for his practice.

Academic Career and Teaching

Koberling’s influence extended well beyond his own studio through a long commitment to art education. His transition into teaching began with a series of guest lectureships. Between 1976 and 1981, he shared his perspectives at various institutions in Hamburg, Düsseldorf, and Berlin. These early teaching roles allowed him to engage with different student bodies across Germany before he settled into more permanent academic positions.

His formal career in academia deepened in 1981 when he accepted a professorship at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg. He remained in this role for seven years, helping to shape the next generation of artists until 1988. This period marked a significant chapter in his professional life, balancing his personal creative practice with the responsibilities of a formal faculty position.

In 1988, he moved to Berlin to take up a professorship at the Hochschule der Künste. He continued his work in this capacity for nearly two decades, serving as a professor at the Universität der Künste Berlin until 2007. Through these decades of instruction, he remained a steady presence in the German academic landscape, passing on his technical knowledge and his specific approach to the visual language of landscape.

Technique and Artistic Style

Koberling’s work is rooted in a deep, intuitive connection to the natural world. Rather than following the intellectual or conceptual trends of his time, he turned toward the landscape to find a way of seeing. His central motif is the expressive Nordic landscape, a theme he explored through many years of summer stays in Iceland. These trips allowed him to capture the essence of flora and the shifting light of the north, often using the quietude of the landscape to fuel his creative energy. He frequently used watercolors on paper during these excursions, creating works that acted as visual memories to guide his larger paintings later in his Berlin studio.

His approach to painting is process-oriented, focusing on the act of creation as much as the final image. He often moves away from traditional perspectives and the standard rules of spatial depth, choosing instead to work with color spaces that feel immersive. His compositions frequently bypass the need for majestic vistas or a clear background, opting for a more direct, emotional way of representing the environment. This method results in dynamic forms and a use of color that feels alive and immediate.

He primarily works with oil paintings and watercolors, using these mediums to translate his observations of nature into something more personal. His style is characterized by a sense of movement and a rejection of the rigid structures found in classical landscape painting. Instead of a detached view of the world, his canvases offer a way of experiencing the natural environment through a highly individual lens.

Legacy and Recognition

The influence of Bernd Koberling has been felt deeply within the German art scene, particularly through his role in the Neue Wilde movement. His presence in the art world was formally acknowledged in May 2012, when he was elected as a member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin. This recognition followed years of significant professional milestones, including receiving the Fred-Thieler-Preis in 2006. These honors reflect a career spent navigating the tension between the busy life of a metropolis and the quietude of the natural world.

His work has traveled far beyond the borders of Germany, finding its way into major international institutions. His paintings and prints have been included in exhibitions at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Such reach highlights how his personal connection to landscapes resonated with audiences across the Atlantic. In 2017, his life's work was given a significant moment of reflection through a retrospective exhibition at the Museum Küppersmühle für Moderne Kunst in Duisburg, which looked back at his output spanning several decades.

Where to See His Works Today

Finding his paintings and drawings requires a trip to several significant institutions across Europe and beyond. In Germany, his presence is felt in major collections such as the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin and the Hamburger Kunsthalle. These locations hold pieces that reflect his long-standing connection to the landscape and his place within the German art scene. His work is also part of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf, where his expressive approach to color and form can be observed.

The reach of his art extends further, finding a home in the Vancouver Art Gallery. This international presence ensures that his visual language, shaped by years of observing the natural world, remains accessible to viewers far from his home in Berlin. Whether in a quiet museum setting or a large public gallery, his works continue to exist as physical records of his many years spent studying the essence of nature.