KATJA LIEBMANN
Royal College Of Art, London / MA
Kunsthochschule Berlin – Weissensee / MA
Academy Of Fine Arts Nuremberg / BA
The work of Katja Liebmann records the energy, isolation and alienation of urban life whilst maintaining a reflective, dreamlike quality. Much of her work is printed using low tech, nineteenth century processes, such as the Gotham City pieces which were created with the Van Dyke process. The negative is contact printed using sunlight to produce rare and timeless photographs. The Journeys and Dwellings series feature cyanotype prints, one of the oldest photographic processes. The blue tone of the cyanotype prints on textured etching paper enhances the romance of the images; heavy raindrops are blotted onto the hazy scenes outside and shadowy trees float against vast stone facades. Katja’s use of this early photographic technique is not a sentimental choice however; for her it simply presents the best means to portray the ephemerality of time and existence.
The type of implementation, the exposure of large negatives on the handmade papers, the blue colour gives the motifs, which seem to be taken casually, their own expressive value. This includes the reminiscence of romantic landscape painting; it also lifts the images to another, more abstract level and creates distance. In this way, these works lead back to the core of reality and to an immediate vision by creating a new, specific image quality.
Katja Liebmann was nominated for the 1998 Citibank Photography Prize (now the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize) and was awarded the prestigious DAAD scholarship in 1995. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Royal College of Art, London; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Charles Saatchi Collection, London; the LzO Art Collection, (Landessparkasse zu Oldenburg), Oldenburg; the Bishkek Art Centre, Kirgisien; and the Omsk Museum of Visual Arts, among others.
Liebmann studied painting at the Academy of fine Arts in Nuremberg, and at Kunsthochschule Berlin where she received the Master of Arts in 1995. Followed by a MA-Printmaking Course at the Royal College of Art, Master of Arts Degree in 1997.
1997/98 State University of New York, followed by teaching at the London College of Printing. 1998 Purchase of the group of works „Gotham City“ by the Saatchi Collection London, in the same year nomination for the Citibank Photography Prize, London. 2000 Scholarship of the Hasselblad Foundation Gothenburg, Sweden with exhibition. The following year she exhibited at the Goethe-Institut in London. Since 2003 lecturer in artistic printmaking at the University of Oldenburg
1997 Royal College of Art, London, MA Printmaking
1995 Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee, MA Painting & Printmaking
Academy of Fine Arts, Nuremberg
EXHIBITIONS
2026 Langsamkeit (+ Catalogue), Gallery Dittmar, Berlin – (solo)
2025 Landscape & Alchemy, Duo Show featuring Katja Liebmann and Nadezda Nikolova, Gallery HackelBury Fine Art, London
2025 Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, Gallery IV, curated by Christopher Le Brun, Work: „Dialogue through Glass“, Cyanotype, 2024, 40×50 cm
2024 Spuren verwischen / Obscure Traces, Gallery J. J. Heckenhauer, Munich, (solo)
2024 ART Fair Munich Highlights at Munich Residenz
2024 Kunst Heute / in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Studio 18279 – Rothspalk
2024 BLUES – Katja Liebmann at the State Museum Oldenburg, (Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kultur, Schloss, Oldenburg), April – July 2024, (duo)
2024 ART KARLSRUHE / Gallery – J. J. Heckenhauer, Munich
2023 ART MIAMI / HackelBury Fine Art, London
2023 Blaues in Rothspalk“ – KUNST HEUTE in MV, Studio 18279 – Rothspalk / (solo)
2023 PHOTOFAIRS New York – HackelBury Fine Art, London
2023 Javits Centre, New York
2023 Die Erfahrung der Landschaft, Galerie Dittmar, Berlin, Georg Baselitz · Karl Bohrmann ·
Mona Breede · Enrico Della Torre · Marcel Gähler · Anna Gille · Sharka Hyland · Katja Liebmann · Arnulf Rainer
2022 Dust in the Wind, HackelBury Fine Art, London, (solo)
2021 Paris Photo
2021 HackelBury Fine Art, London
2021 Grand Palais Ephémère, Paris
2021 Waiting II, HackelBury Fine Art, London, Group Exhibition
2021 Cities and Landscapes in Motion – Retrospektiv II, Galerie Dittmar, Berlin, (solo)
2021 Photo London Digital / HackelBury Fine Art, London
2021 Waiting, HackelBury Fine Art, London, Group Exhibition
2020 Berlin. London. NewYork – Retrospective 1, Gallery Dittmar, Berlin (solo)
2019 Twenty One, HackelBury Fine Art, London
2019 Early Work, HackelBury Fine Art, London (solo)
2019 PARIS PHOTO 2019
2019 PHOTO LONDON 2019
2018 Twenty, HackelBury Fine Art, London
2017 Beds and Mashinery, Gallery Berlinicke, Wildeshausen (solo)
2015 The 22th Annual Artshow, Westwerk, Leipzig
2015 Solid Sleep, Galerie Lake, Oldenburg (solo)
2014 Natur, Galerie Dittmar, Berlin (solo)
2014 A gram of Light, (g),curated by Christoph Schaden Museum for Industrial Culture, Nuremberg
2013 Green Art 2, Museum for Art and Art History, Oldenburg
2012 New aquisitions, Artothek, Oldenburg
2012 Blaue Blätter, Galerie Dittmar, Berlin (solo)
2010 Sehnsuchtsorte II, Bremer Landesmuseum / Pelzerhäuser Emden
2010 Journey / Houses, Gallery Herold, Bremen, (solo)
2010 Destination Wilhelmshaven, Art Gallery Wilhelmshaven
2010 Reverse, Omsk Museum of Visual Arts, (with Goethe-Institute Novosibirsk)
2010 Journey / Houses, HackelBury Fine Art, London, (solo)
2009 German Landscapes, Gallery Dittmar, Berlin, (solo)
2009 German Landscapes, Art Society Vechta
2009 Bright Spots – current positions /aesthetic experiments, Museum for Art and Art History, Oldenburg
2009 The space between man and camera, Goethe Institute Ankara, Artist talk and Exhibition, (solo)
2009 Genius loci, Novosibirsk State Art Museum, VI. Novosibirsk Graphic Art Biennial, curated by Eugenia Gortchakova
2008 Crossroads. Nomadic knowledge and art strategies, Bishkek Art Center, Kirgisien, (Sp. by IFA and Goethe Institute), curated by Eugenia Gortchakova
2008 Truth is what connects us, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, (Karl Jaspers Year 2008), (solo)
2006 ECHT, (Oldenburger Kunstverein), Art Society Oldenburg, work from 1993-2006, (solo)
2005 London – Bilder, Gallery Dittmar, Berlin
2002 Landscapes, Part II, Saatchi Gallery, London
2002 100% Photography, HackelBury Fine Art, London
2002 St. James Group Photography Prize 2002, Flowers East, London
2001 Berlin 328, HackelBury Fine Art, London, (solo)
2001 Berlin Ornaments, Goethe Institute, London, (solo)
2000 Modern Times III, Hasselblad Centre, Goeteborg
2000 Sotheby’s, London, Contemporary Art Exhibition 2000
1999 Inspirit, Maidstone Museum & Art Gallery
1999 Londinia, Photographers Gallery, London
1999 Eyes of March, The Lux Center, London, LEA-Gallery
1998 Urban Landscapes, Victoria Miro Gallery, London
1998 The Photographers’ Gallery, London, Citibank Photography Prize, (Deutsche Börse Photography Prize)
with Andreas Gursky, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Thomas Demand
1997 Shortlist / The John Kobal Photographic Portrait Award , National Portrait Gallery, London
1997 Gloves Off! at Shoreditch Town Hall, London
1996 Liquid, David Hockney Gallery, Royal College of Art, London
1996 Palimpsest Berlin, Centre for Contemporary Arts, Rouen
1996 Palimpsest Berlin, Cityhall, 6 th arrondissement, Paris
AWARDS / SCHOLARSHIPS
2002 Shortlisted / St. James Group Photography Prize
2001 Scholarship / Hasselblad Foundation, Goeteborg, Sweden
1998 Shortlisted for Citibank Photography Prize, London, (Deutsche Börse Photography Prize), London
1997 Deloitte & Touche Prize for Excellence, R.C.A, London,
1997 John Purcell Paper Prize, London
1996 Renaissance Art Award, Aylesbury / London
1995 DAAD Scholarship for London
COLLECTIONS
The graphic Collection of the Royal College of Art, London
The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Charles Saatchi Collection, London
The Rubell Collection Miami
LzO Art Collection, (Landessparkasse zu Oldenburg)
Collection of the Bishkek Art Centre, Kyrgyzstan
The Omsk Museum of Visual Arts, among others
LECTURING / ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
Lecturer in printmaking and early photographic processes at Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg
VISITING LECTURES
London College of Communication
Royal College of Art, London
Camberwell College of Art, London
Kent Institute of Art & Design, Kent
Haccetepe University, Ankara
ARTIST TALKS
2025 Artist Talk Diane Smyth (British Journal of Photography) and Katja Liebmann, Landscape & Alchemy, HackelBury Fine Art, London
2022 Q&A between HackelBury Fine Art and Katja Liebmann, Exhibition Dust in the Wind
2019 Interview by Tracy Calder: Remembrance of Things Past at Black & White Photography Magazine Nr.236
2019 Interview by Daniel Pateman: Katja Liebmann – Early Work at Photomonitor Magazine
2019 Artist Talk Nigel Warburton – Katja Liebmann, Opening Preview of Early Work at HackelBury Fine Art
2010 Interview by Alisa Mc Whinnie: Into the Blue, Black & White Photography Magazine
2009 Goethe Institute Ankara, The space between man and camera, Artist talk and solo exhibition at the Goethe Institute Gallery, Ankara
2009 Artist lecture and workshop at Hacettepe-University, Ankara
TEXTS / REVIEWS
2026 Christoph Schaden, Essay for Catalogue, Katja Liebmann, Work 1994 – 2024, Edition Dittmar
2026 Brian Dillon, Essay for Catalogue, Katja Liebmann, Work 1994 – 2024, Edition Dittmar
2025 Rolf Sachsse Text for Catalogue, Katja Liebmann, Work 1994 – 2024, Edition Dittmar
2025 Review / Musee Magazine 17/7/25, Anna Rose Goldwitz, Exhibition / Landscape & Alchemy, Gallery HackelBury Fine Art, London
2025 Review / Impulse Magazine 22/7/25, Nico Kos Earle, Exhibition / Landscape & Alchemy, Gallery HackelBury Fine Art, London
2021 Tracy Calder, Cyanotypes as memories, Artdoc Magazine, 12/2021, The article features the new series ‚Dust in The Wind‘
2012 Peter Dittmar / Text for Private View “Natur”, new Photographic work, Gallery Dittmar
2012 Isolde Loock / Text for Exhibition Die Fahrt/Häuser, Gallery Herold, Bremen
2006 Jürgen Weichardt, Text for Catalogue Deutsche Landschaften / German Landscapes ISBN: 3-9806903-7-7, publ. Galerie Dittmar, Berlin
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2026 Beyond Photographie, Catalogue, Edition Dittmar, Berlin
2024 Publication for BLUES – Katja Liebmann / State Museum Oldenburg, Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kultur, Schloss, Oldenburg
2014 A Gram of Light, Catalogue, Museum for Industrial Culture, Nuremberg
2009 Bright spots / Lichtblicke, Catalogue, Museum for Art and Art history, Oldenburg
2009 German Landscapes, Catalogue, Edition Dittmar, Berlin
2010 Destination Wilhelmshaven, Catalogue, Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven
2001 I am a Camera, Catalogue, The Saatchi Gallery, publ. by Booth-Clibborn Editions
1999 Modern Times III, Catalogue, Hasselblad Centre, Göteborg
1998 The New Neurotic Realism, Catalogue, The Saatchi Gallery, London
1997 The Citibank Photography Prize / Deutsche Börse Photography Prize Catalogue, The Photographers Gallery, London