Heiko Müller was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1968. He gained a diploma in illustration and design from the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences and has since gone on to develop a small media design agency with some friends. Never one to care much about catagories, Heiko’s art focuses on subject matter he cares about, and he paints it in whatever way he see fitting. He currently draws inspiration from a wide spectrum of sources, including, rural folk art, B-movie aesthetics and the Flemish masters. Müller’s most recent work marks a return to painting after a long period of drawing with coloured pencils, during which he developed special techniques to make the drawings appear like oil paintings. Heiko’s preferred media are acrylic and oil on paper and oil on canvas, complemented by pencil drawings. His work is exhibited and bought almost as often in the USA as in his native Europe.
“My art comes from an urge to explore. I like the countryside. I like a good view. And once I’m face to face with lovely scenery, I feel immediately tempted to find out what it’s concealing. The dark goings-on behind the façade of nature, you might say, or the hidden machinations of the animal kingdom. To imagine and express this, I usually tap the lines linking religious icon art, renaissance painting and comic culture. I am particularly thrilled by the kind of spiritual terror you find expressed in the paintings of the old Flemish masters, and I’m trying to find out what happens when you apply that mood to the serene and harmless world of rural folk art.” – Heiko Müller
