From Blur to Form: Siegmar Ahlvers’ Planned Abstraction
Before Siegmar Ahlvers became an artist, he worked as an engineer searching for laws: measurements, models, systems. At the same time, he carried sketchbooks with him since his youth – driven by the question of how to make the invisible visible. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle became an inner metaphor for him: reality oscillates between probability and certainty. His painting is an attempt to give form to this limbo.
His public debut came in 2004 with a small exhibition of square watercolors. A visitor spontaneously purchased several works, but more decisive than the sale was the realization that his paintings noticeably transform spaces and moods. A private quest became a stance; Ahlvers consistently developed his art – initially alongside his job, later as a profession.
His works are developed methodically. Ideas grow from dreams, meditative notes, and sketchbook studies; these lead to small-format drafts, before being transferred to canvas or wooden bodies. The compositions—often graphically geometric—are based on precise image division and a deliberately chosen color dramaturgy. Materials and methods are open: brushes, palette knives, rollers, sponges, pens, foil prints, aluminum foil, sand, pebbles, charcoal, magnets—anything that brings surface and space to life. At the same time, Ahlvers works serially, maintaining a consistent formal language within a series, so that the works stand alone and together function as an ensemble.
Influenced by Christian thought and scientific thinking, Ahlvers searches for the "inner structures" of the world in patterns, rhythms, and color spaces. His carefully composed, atmospherically dense works create a concentrated, inspiring presence in both private and professional spaces - art as visible order in the flux of uncertainty.
Siegmar Ahlvers, born in 1957, grew up in Langenhagen, the Weserbergland region, and Celle, and has lived in Hanover since 1978. Over 30 years of international travel - particularly in the tire industry - shaped his perspective; today, these experiences visibly flow into his work.
