My Art

I create decorative, abstract paintings with acrylic paint on canvas and I use high-quality, pigment-rich colors that ensure an intense and long-lasting radiance as well as impressive depth of color. The sweeping application of paint is done with my hands; a spatula is only used occasionally. This direct contact with the medium of color enables me to effectively bring intense emotions onto the canvas.
Many layers of color applied one on top of the other and strong light/dark contrasts create a depth that tempts you to wander around the motifs when looking at them. The associations that arise and possibly equally contrasting emotions invite to a meditative and self-reflective introspection.
Creating inner harmony through empathetic engagement with our light and shadow sides is the central theme in my work and the goal of this meditative-intuitive process.

Statement

Since my early youth, I have had an intensive connection to the visual arts, which was triggered and encouraged in particular by my grandparents. Their two last names (Prietzel and Gaca) form the stage name Priegaca and it honors their memory. During countless visits to exhibitions and museums, I gained a deep insight into the diversity of artistic design. Artists like Claude Monet, Lyonel Feininger, Adolph Menzel and Gerhard Richter particularly fascinated me and unconsciously certainly had an influence on my own creative work.
My paintings are characterized by intense colors and a strong visual presence. The constant representation of contrasts, which result from the alternation of dark and lighter colors, as well as a lively application of color, ensure an expressive character. This expression is enhanced by the fact that I apply the acrylic paint directly to the canvas with my hands, creating an intimate and undisturbed connection between myself and the materials.
This connection puts me in a meditative state when I paint, in which I can consciously perceive thoughts and emotions that arise. The result is intuitive painting, which is controlled by the emerging emotions, such as anger, sadness or passion, and reflects these on the canvas. The spiritual practice of meditation has become a rite for me on the path to self-knowledge for many years and now receives artistic expression in my works.
The topic of shadow work, i.e. perceiving and empathically dealing with dark and hidden parts of myself, plays a central role. The dark areas in my pictures are therefore dominant, even if the lighter colors are more clearly noticeable due to the stronger contrasts. They represent the shift from shadow to light and the healing we experience when we reflect on our inner wounds. The finished paintings reflect the quintessence of this process and have a corresponding symbolic character.
In a time of socially superficial and externally based disharmony, I believe it is essential that we turn inward and begin to listen to ourselves, get to know our demons and reconcile with them. The conscious handling of all of our parts makes a free life and harmonious interaction with one another possible! My art is a symbol of this inner process and invites the viewer to get to know themselves a little better.

Bio

Born in 1976 and raised in Berlin, I came into contact with the world of fine art thanks in particular to my grandparents. They took me through numerous museums and galleries in my city and introduced me to different directions and styles make the art world so diverse.
I became creativily active by practicing pencil sketches and watercolors, which were particularly inspired by Adolph Menzel. However, practicing fine art remained a hobby, which came to a temporary end at the age of 19.
After graduating from high school and training as a nurse, I worked in a Berlin hospital for the next 15 years. The impressions of illness and death I experienced during this time had a lasting impact on me and raised questions about the deeper meaning of life and its transience. I was particularly interested in the role of self-efficacy in building and maintaining health, satisfaction and balance in life. During this time I also began to deal more and more with myself and encountered deeply hidden shadows that I did not yet understand at the time.
Only the practice of meditation and the beginning of deep shadow work laid the foundation for the reflected and freer personality that I am today.
The desire to communicate this personal development to the outside world brought me closer to art again in 2021 when I completed my first acrylic paintings. The meditative and intuitive way of painting allows me access to my own inner world and brings it onto the canvas in abstract form.