I was born in Gera in 1990 and grew up in Weida and Berga-Wünschendorf on the Elster River in Thuringia, where I had limited exposure to art. After moving to Zeulenroda-Triebes in 2008, I suddenly developed a passion for art and began painting. In 2010, I returned to Berga-Wünschendorf and set up my first studio there. That same year, I had my first exhibitions in Gera and the surrounding area. My main inspiration at that time was Expressionism, though music and song lyrics also influenced my work.
In 2011, I moved to Gera, where I began to embody the artistic persona Van de Wilhlem, a socially critical identity with a self-imposed noble title. Under this name, I painted wild faces and depicted alcohol-soaked, naked bodies with powerful brushstrokes on canvases. In 2012, I co-founded a gallery called "Opus 7" in downtown Gera, which later became the association "Bunte Steinweg Family." Since then, I have taken annual art trips to Munich and Salzburg.
In 2013, I moved to Leipzig and established the Kirschberg Studio in Leipzig Möckern. A year later, I co-founded the artist group "Hermsdorfer Hopfenkur" with friends, where we painted, photographed, exhibited, and danced together. In 2015, I took private lessons from the Leipzig painter F. Degelow and worked as a photo-travesty model for a photographer from Weimar. In 2016, I moved to a new shared studio in the Atelierhäusern on Franz-Flemming-Strasse in western Leipzig and had my first exhibitions in Leipzig and Karlsruhe.
In 2019 and 2020, I exhibited in Vienna, Salzburg, Rome, and at the Wilhelm Morger Art Museum in Soest. In 2022, I took an artistic break but returned to art with renewed vigor in the same year. I aim to enrich the discourse on sexual diversity and tolerance through my artistic work and personality, using visual art to establish non-verbal communication between image and viewer. My painting is primarily inspired by Expressionism and Neo-Impressionism, though I am not averse to contemporary approaches in motif. I employ both rough and fine painting techniques, depending on the subject and mood, and occasionally feel drawn to collages. However, one should not expect too much naturalism, as my works often rely on an abstract visual language.