Some artists explain their work. Ida Jesenberger lets it speak. Her paintings process feelings that words struggle to capture — and create understanding without ever needing a sentence. Unlike many painters who let the process guide them, Ida approaches a painting with a clear vision from the very start:
"I like having everything laid out before I even start painting. […] I know exactly how I want it to look."
Her starting point is usually a mood she wants to capture. Together with her boyfriend, photographer Timm Felder, she creates reference images, which later become a sketch and then the painting.
Color-wise, Ida is currently in a "pink-salmon period". A hint of olive green remains more of a footnote: "I don't really have green paintings from now on. I'd say pink/salmon is still the main color." Her recurring subject is herself, not out of vanity, but as the most honest way to access her own emotions: "Painting is mostly about my feelings, so it would feel weird to paint someone else." Reserved in everyday life, she finds through her paintings a presence that doesn't come naturally otherwise: "They hang somewhere and I'm fully present through the paintings without having to show myself that way."
Her depictions of hands in particular reveal more than words could: "I feel like my hands give a lot away about me. […] They tend to do these strange things."
Standing in front of one of her large-format paintings creates an odd sense of recognition, moments of not quite feeling like yourself, which many people know but rarely put into words. That is exactly where the strength of her art lies: it communicates without explaining, and connects without a single word.
The full feature "Zwischenräume," with more insights into Ida's artistic process, can be read in Stammcafe magazine.
