Christian Ralfs is a visual artist and writer based in Bad Oldesloe, northern Germany. His visual work, photography and writing are connected by an interest in reduction, trace, material presence and process.
works
Ralfs works primarily with ink, gouache, charcoal and pigment on paperand canvas. Rather than starting from a predetermined image, each work develops through the interaction of action, material and surface.
As traces accumulate, break or dissolve, density, interval and open areas become part of the composition.
photography
In Field Studies, an ongoing series of black-and-white photographs, Ralfs observes surfaces, structures and spaces. Framing, proximity and shifts in scale draw attention to line, tone and texture. The images move between recognition and abstraction while remaining grounded in the places where they were made.
writing
His writing includes short-form poetry and essays. Like his visual work, it is shaped by reduction, rhythm and close observation, and by the tension between deliberate form and what remains open.