Farewell to young painter Paula Kamps, who passed away at only 36 years old

German painter Paula Kamps, one of the most interesting exponents of young contemporary European painting, has passed away at the age of just 36. The news was made known by the Parisian gallery Sans titre, which announced her passing in a message of condolence published in recent hours. The cause of death has not been disclosed at this time. With Kamps, the art world loses one of the most original voices of her generation, an artist who had built up over the years a personal research recognizable for its use of color, its balance between figuration and abstraction, and its constant reflection on themes of memory, identity and the possibility of understanding each other.

Born in Cologne in 1990, Paula Kamps had developed an educational and creative path that led her to deal with some of the most important international artistic realities. Until recently, she lived and worked in Chicago, a city in which she had consolidated her exhibition activities and pictorial research. His academic path had begun far from the visual arts. In fact, at first he had studied philosophy at the Free University of Berlin, an experience that would help define the conceptual approach present in his artistic production. Later he had chosen to devote himself to painting by transferring to the Düsseldorf Academy of Art, one of Germany’s most prestigious institutions in the visual arts.

At the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf she had studied under two leading figures on the international contemporary scene, painters Tomma Abts and Elizabeth Peyton. In 2016 she had concluded her academic journey by being awarded the title of Meisterschülerin, an award reserved for the most deserving students who continue their artistic education under the supervision of a teacher.

Over the years, Kamps had developed a practice that moved on the margins of traditional painting, exploring languages and techniques considered peripheral to the medium of painting. At the center of his research was above all a mode of expression located somewhere between watercolor and drawing, characterized by a focus on the brilliance and chromatic intensity that such procedures allow.

Her works were situated in a borderline space between figuration and abstraction. Wide color fields, defined by painter Andre Butzer as true “spots,” often occupied the surface of the canvas. Through careful and controlled drafting of color, these forms allowed human figures, scenes of everyday life and narrative fragments to emerge, but they always appeared incomplete, partial and suspended.

The characters depicted in his paintings frequently appeared blurred, indistinct or hidden. This dimension was accompanied by a recurrent but deliberately enigmatic symbolism, capable of suggesting meanings without ever making them fully explicit. The artist thus addressed some of the most persistent themes in art history: the unreliability of memory, the elusiveness of meaning, and the constant desire of human beings to understand themselves and others. This tension between presence and absence, between recognizability and ambiguity, was one of the most valued features of his production. Indeed, her images seemed to emerge from incomplete memories or transforming visions, offering the viewer an open-ended and never definitive narrative.

Paula Kamps’ exhibition career had developed rapidly in Europe, Asia and the United States. In recent years the artist had been featured in numerous solo exhibitions that had established her international reputation.

Individual exhibitions included those held at Galerie Christine Mayer in 2026, M. LeBlanc in Chicago in 2024 and 2021, eastcontemporary in Milan in 2022, Mou Project in Hong Kong in 2022, Sans titre in Paris in 2021, Kunstverein Heppenheim in 2019, Spazio Nea in Naples in 2018, and Kunsthaus Mettmann in 2014. Alongside solo exhibitions, his work had been included in a growing number of group exhibitions in prestigious venues. By 2024 he had participated in projects at Galerie Max Hetzler in Berlin, Galerie Bernd Kugler in Innsbruck, TheMerode in Brussels, The Arts Club of Chicago, Secci Gallery in Florence, and The Green Gallery in Milwaukee. The previous year, in 2023, his works were presented at Galería Heinrich Ehrhardt in Madrid and Good Weather in North Little Rock. In 2022 he had taken part in exhibitions organized by M. LeBlanc in Chicago, David Zwirner’s online platform, Sans titre in Paris, and NÉVÉ in Los Angeles. His international presence had also manifested itself through participations in exhibitions at LVH in London in 2021, Andrea Festa Fine Art in Rome in 2021, SLICE at Ufer Studios in Berlin in 2020, Orchard32 in New York in 2019, Carbon12 in Dubai in 2018, and Kunstverein Reutlingen in the same year.

Parallel to painting, Kamps cultivated an abiding interest in poetry writing. He regularly published his own texts in the form of artist’s books, flanking his visual practice with a literary production that helped expand the framework of his creative research. This dialogue between word and image represented one of the distinctive aspects of her work and confirmed the multidisciplinary nature of her activity.

“Paula Kamps,” states the Sans Titre Gallery, “was an artist of rare sensitivity. Over the past seven years, we had the privilege of accompanying her on her artistic journey and spending valuable time with her, in the gallery, in the studio, during art fairs and through the many conversations that shaped our relationship. Her work will remain with us, not only through the exhibitions, projects and moments we shared, but also through the enduring presence she continues to exert in the lives of those who encountered her. We extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends, collaborators and colleagues, as well as to all those who had the privilege of working closely with her throughout her life.”

Farewell to young painter Paula Kamps, who passed away at only 36 years old

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