about

Fabienne Hübener

I paint since I can hold a crayon. Lately I got interested in interactive performances. When I don´t paint or plan projects, I write texts about science. (Photo: Ursula Zeidler)

From crayons to movement

The strongest influence on my painting style came from my neighbor’s grandfather, who owned a crayon company. His granddaughter, who was also my close childhood friend, had hundreds of crayons. She told me that her grandfather developed new colors in his company that often didn’t make it to the stores. But we had all these unique colors and shades, and we loved spending hours drawing with them. I can’t think of any other explanation for why I enjoy vibrant colors so much. I tried using fewer colors, but it just feels unnatural to me. I loved my paintings and would hang them all over my parents’ house, creating makeshift exhibitions. I overheard them talking once, saying that they would actually love to buy something from a real artist, someone from the area, but his art was too expensive, around a thousand Deutsche Marks. (They were referring to Joseph Beuys.)

After crayons, I started using watercolor paints, and my shared apartment became my studio, critique space, and gallery all at once. To my surprise, I began selling some of my paintings, which gave me the confidence to experiment with other techniques. Eventually, I transitioned to using oil paints and canvas. I had a boyfriend who had studied art in the German Democratic Republic before escaping, and he taught me how to make my own canvases. I also learned by sneaking into drawing classes at the Academy of Arts in Munich.

I once asked a painter and teacher if I should apply to the academy, but his shocked reaction made me quickly forget about it.

As I had my first exhibitions outside of my personal space, and as the number of my paintings grew, I switched from oil to acrylic paints. Painting with oil in the same room where you sleep can make you sick from the smell. I exhibited in jazz clubs, barber shops, research institutes, and doctors’ offices.

One day, while looking out from my office (where I worked as a freelance journalist), I spotted an empty building. I found out it belonged to the Munich Stadtwerke, so I asked to rent it for 50 euros a month. Soon, I had an atelier house with over 20 spacious rooms and a large hallway, perfect for parties and concerts. I invited 18 other artists from the area to join me, and thus 1STEIN28 was born. We were an artist group that spent six years together in the building, which is now the Volkshochschule at Max-Weber-Platz.

At 1STEIN28, I observed other artists experimenting with installations, so I started creating installations as well. My first installation consisted of two large jars filled with smelly t-shirts (there’s a long story behind that involving my time living in Japan and collecting human sweat). The installations evolved into video installations, then mini-performances, and recently, projects involving movement.

My latest project, “Dance a Smell” at Villa Trabia in Palermo, combines two of my passions. I have a fascination with the sense of smell (as a scientist involved in olfaction), and I love dance and movement. The great thing about performances is that they don’t need to be stored anywhere, they are always unique, and they involve a lot of interaction. The memory of a performance lingers longer than that of a painting. Lately, I’ve become interested in the topic of rituals. Since smells often play a part in rituals, I see intriguing combinations there.