Johanna Smiatek is a visual artist who studied Fine Arts as a master student at the Brunswick University of Art (HBK), previously graduated in Graphic Design from the University of Applied Sciences Hildesheim, and currently lives and works in Berlin. She is an artist who always raises a question about human sensory perception, the nature of reality, and the inseparable link between illusion and disillusion, based on drawing, collage, and immersive installations.

Her latest practice, “Visual Poetry - Letters Serie,” is an exploration of the boundary between text, collage, and drawing. From her recent methodology—deconstructing textual elements from fashion magazines to compose optical poems—the artist tries to transfer these collages one-to-one into meticulous drawings. The commercial, printed layout is continuously confronted with the time-intensive, analogue execution of color pencil and graphite on paper. It is only upon closer inspection that the works reveal themselves as drawings, subverting the viewer’s immediate expectations. She describes her work as an investigation into the diverse mechanisms of perception required to comprehend reality. Her work is rooted in the dialogue between historical aesthetics and contemporary mass media, merging graphic precision within the form of poetic, written configurations.

Smiatek’s distinguished career is marked by prestigious awards and grants, including fellowships from the Berlin Senate for Culture and the Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral. She has been invited to solo and group exhibitions at prominent venues, including Museum FLUXUS+ in Potsdam, Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, Kunsthalle Hamburg, Galerie im Taxispalais in Innsbruck, as well as international platforms in Vienna and Los Angeles.

Education & Training

1997

Master Student Degree (Meisterschülerin), Brunswick University of Art (HBK), Germany

1993–1998

Studies in Fine Arts (Diploma 1996), Brunswick University of Art (HBK), Germany

1988–1992

Studies in Graphic Design (Diploma), University of Applied Sciences Hildesheim/Holzminden, Germany

1987–1988

Studies in Mathematics, University of Hannover, Germany

Exhibition & Projects (Selection)

2026

Rien ne va plus!, Dr. Schreyger´s Kunstpalast (Charlottenwalk), Berlin (Solo exhibition)

2025

Paralleluniversen, feinkunst e.V., Hannover, Germany (Solo exhibition)
Europa Ohne Ende, sporklübü, Berlin, Germany
Patriotismen, oberwelt e.V., Stuttgart, Germany
15 Jahre Schaufenster, SchauFenster, Berlin, Germany
Shape, Dr. Schreyger´s Kunstpalast, Berlin, Germany

2024

Close to the edge, sporklübü, Berlin

Kipp-Punkt, oberwelt e.V., Stuttgart

PAR(I)TY WITH US, aquabitArt Galerie, Berlin

2023

FABRIK, roam projects e.V., Berlin

TRYST Art Fair, Torrance Art Museum, Los Angeles, USA

Grenzen der Aufklärung, oberwelt e.V., Stuttgart

Unberührt Berührt, Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart

NordWestKunst, Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven (Nominierung NordWest-Kunstpreis)

2022

PlayTime, Galerie Sternstudio, Vienna, Austria (Solo exhibition)
Blind Vision, Rathenau Hallen, Berlin, Germany
Anonymous Drawings, Galerie im Körnerpark, Berlin, Germany
Saloon On Paper, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden, Germany

2021

2021 - An Earthly Odyssey, Museumsquartier Q21, Vienna, Austria (Solo exhibition)
Punto Y Raya Festival: Transformations, Künstlerhaus Wien, Austria
Leerstellenrauschen, Galerie Die Ganze Freiheit, Berlin, Germany

2018

SEX ROLE (Capital Cultural Fund / ProjectSpaceFestival), Schaufenster, Berlin, Germany

2015

Must-have, Museum FLUXUS+, Potsdam, Germany (Solo exhibition)

2012

Der Spiegel des Narziss, Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck, Austria

2011

Unscharf. Nach Gerhard Richter, Kunsthalle Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

2010

Rohkunstbau XVII: Atlantis II, Schloss Marquardt, Potsdam, Germany