"Colours don't carry judgement. Neither should we."

“Culturally, we divide all areas of our life into positive and negative. We are used to evaluation and judgement. Unlike us, colours don’t carry judgement. They know neither old nor young, neither big nor small, neither good nor bad. A change of perspective on colour enables us to change the perspective on our evaluation models.”

Since 2015, artist Kim Kluge has been dealing with the synaesthetics of colours and human traits. After intensively dealing with the meaning of colours, both universally and across cultures, Kim created her own colour language in which she now portrays the essence of people, fully renunciating the concrete representation of age, gender and cultural aesthetics.

“When perceiving a person, I focus on what energy this person’s essence radiates. I then translate my perception into colours.”

In 2019 Kim created her first felt portraits. With this highly sensitive material Kim succeeded in harmonising material and content. Felt is not only to be seen as a second skin, it underlines the warming and connecting aspect of the colours. The material creates a breeding ground for social warmth. Those portrayed have an effect on their surroundings, at best they inspire the viewer.

With her colour portraits, Kim sets a counterpoint to the fast-moving times we live in. Every person is uniquely beautiful, no matter old or young, with or without wrinkles. “Growth cannot be forced. Growth is a natural aspect of our life.”

In this series, TRUE COLORS 2020, friendmade® presents eight of Kim’s colour portraits of famous artists. All artworks are available in a limited edition, either as a fineart print or a liquid gloss wall piece.