BIOGRAPHY
Bernd Caspar Dietrich is a renowned German artist recognized for his abstract, color-centric works and innovative material explorations. With over 40 years as a freelance artist, his pieces have been successfully auctioned at Christie’s, confirming his place in the international art scene.
For more than 30 years, Dietrich has been working with sand as a core material in his practice, developing large-scale glass and mirror installations. Notably, his “EnergieSammler” sculpture, realized in 2015 at artpark Hoher Berg, exemplifies this approach. This glass structure absorbs sunlight during the day and begins to glow at sunset, continuing to emit light into the night through solar power. His work with light, reflection, and the unique characteristics of glass draws comparisons to the early ZERO movement artists, emphasizing perceptual distortion and physical phenomena.
Dietrich’s 2013 encounter with Christo and the “Big Air Package” installation in Oberhausen inspired his “Wheels” series, where he explored the circle as a geometric form while employing traditional fresco techniques.
In his “Metamorphosen” series, Dietrich shatters previously exhibited paintings, symbolizing transformation and renewal. These works illustrate a journey from larval states to fulfilled purpose. In 2020, he initiated a charity project supporting women’s shelters, donating the original work “Metamorphose Orange 25” along with 99 hand-painted prints for the “Zonta says NO” campaign. The initiative, launched in collaboration with Galerie Kellermann, continued under the patronage of Herbert Reul, Minister of the Interior for North Rhine-Westphalia, raising significant funds in 2021 and 2022 to combat violence against women and girls.
Dietrich’s international success is underscored by auction results such as “Metamorphose Magelone III” (2023) and “Opal” (2024) at Christie’s, both exceeding estimated prices. Dietrich described the honor of being represented by the world-leading auction house as akin to a “knighthood” in an interview with Bild-Zeitung:
”It’s comparable to authors being nominated for the Nobel Prize. Most artists represented at this level are usually over 80 or already deceased.”
In 2021, Dietrich unveiled the “BetonGold” series, juxtaposing rough concrete with refined gold, initiating a discourse on social responsibility in housing, urbanization, and resource scarcity.
As the founder of artpark Hoher Berg, an experimental cultural space near the Ruhr Metropolis, Dietrich has created a platform merging contemporary art, education, and sustainability. Certified by UNESCO as part of the UN University for Education for Sustainable Development (BNE), the artpark hosts international artists and remains true to Dietrich’s guiding principle: “always free of charge”—championing artistic freedom and accessibility for all.
CV
bcd
born 1957 in Eilenburg/Saxony, lives and works at artpark Hoher Berg, Schermbeck
https://www.hella-bernd.nrw
freelance artist since 1987
artpark Hoher Berg Studio, Hoher Berg 15, 46514 Schermbeck, Germany
E-mail: info@artpark.nrw Mobil: +49 (0) 172 2300504 & +49 (0) 176 63864266 (Studio Management)
1978 First exhibition in the casino, Bad Pyrmont, Lower Saxony
1988 – 1994 First studio in Düsseldorf-Oberbilk
1994 – 1997 Reconstruction of the first own studio house in Dorsten/ NRW
1998 – 2002 Moved to Calgary, Canada
Artist in Residence, Alberta College of Art & Design (ACAD), 1998 – 1999
Teaching and fundraising spokesperson for the ACAD Visiting Artist Programme, 2000
Honorary Professor at ACAD and the University of Calgary, 2000 – 2002
1999-2003 Studio at the Marienschule Dorsten and Essener Straße
Initiator, founding member of Kunstverein Virtuell-Visuell e.V., Dorsten/NRW
Initiator and curator of the international artpark ‘Kunst Kompakt’ festivals:
1999 Dorsten (Wissen, Macht, Demokratie, Virtuell-Visuell)
2000 Potsdam and Dorsten (Abgestellt-Vorgestellt),
2000-2002 Ostseebad Zingst (Stranded)
2002-2005 Foundation of the artist group Return with Hartwig Doden, Eiko Sabela and Ernesto Marques
Return exhibitions in the Foyer, Deutschlandfunk, Cologne and Schermbeck (2002)
Initiator and curator of the artpark Festival of the artist group Return 2003 – 2005
2003 Lecture tour through Australia, including Canberra School of Art (Australia National University), Victorian College of the arts (University of Melbourne)
2004-2008 Studio Bismarckstrasse, Dorsten
End of 2004 Centre of life and work becomes artpark Hoher Berg, Schermbeck
2014 Foundation of the non-profit artpark Hoher Berg UG
2018 Inauguration of artpark Hoher Berg studio and exhibition hall
2020 Inauguration of artpark outdoor area (8000m2) with fruit trees and sculptures
2018-2021 Cinema documentary (101 min.) is produced at artpark, entitled ‘Hella & Bernd’, a film about art and love.
2023 Successful Christies’s Auction Amsterdam, NL
Important exhibitions (selection)
2024 CHRISTIE’s Group Show Amsterdam, NL
2024 10 years of WHEELs, solo show gallery Kellermann & artpark Hoher Berg
2023 CHRISTIE’s Group Show Amsterdam, NL
2023 Tile Kolup, solo show artpark Kunsthalle, Schermbeck/NRW
2023 ZERO23, Gallery Kellermann, Düsseldorf
2022 Hella&Bernd, Museum Eilenburg/Saxony
2022 The Foundation, solo show, Jaeschke Gallery, Braunschweig
2022 Metamorphosis-ORANGE25, Düsseldorf
2021 BetonGold, solo show, Gallery Kellermann Düsseldorf
2021 BetonGold, solo show, Jaeschke Gallery and EinRaum5-7 Gallery, Braunschweig
2020 Metamorphosis ORANGE25, Düsseldorf & Offenburg
2019 Reflection, solo show, Kellermann Gallery (13.01.2019), Düsseldorf
2018 Art Karlsruhe, Gallery Kellermann
2018 Business Club, Düsseldorf
2017 ZERO 2.O Lichtspiele, Kellermann Gallery, Düsseldorf
2017 PerspektiVWechsel, Gallery Kellermann, Art Karlsruhe,
2016 Guided behind the light, solo show, Galerie Kretschmer, Bochum
2016 ART.FAIR Cologne, Gallery Kellermann
2016 ZERO 2.0 Gallery Kellermann, Düsseldorf
2015 WHEELS, LHVM, Lurz & Hölscher, Düsseldorf
2008 Dschalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi: The mountain kisses the lake, Luxembourg
2008 Gallery Goerz, Luxembourg
2007 Light in the Centre, Luxembourg
2004 Chairs of Power, Dorsten
2002 Gallery Goerz, Luxembourg
2002 Deutschlandfunk Foyer, Cologne
2000 Wall of Fire, Bärensprung, Pritzwalk district
1999 The colours of the night, solo show, Dorsten
1996 Sira House, Christiansand, Norway
1996 Olympic Village, Calgary, Canada
1994 McKinsey & Company Inc., Cologne
1993 Museum Eilenburg and Gallery Bader, Eilenburg
1991 first illustrated book by bcd ‘Auf Pfauenschwingen’
1991 Gallery Kunst im Licht, Düsseldorf
1990 Hotel Regent, Cologne
1978 First exhibition in the casino, Bad Pyrmont, Lower Saxony
Art space projects (selection)
2020 The beautiful Magelone, artpark Kunsthalle, Schermbeck and Bruchsal
2019 The Dead City, solo show, artpark Kunsthalle, Schermbeck
2017 tem-po-rär, LHVM, Lutz & Hölscher, Düsseldorf
2016 Candle Light, light installation, Recklinghausen
2016 The Apple Gate, light installation, solo show, Recklinghausen
2015 artpark Mirror Cube No. 3, Recklinghausen
2015 artpark EnergieSammler Pilot, Dorsten
2015 Art in the juice store, Josef Möller fruit juice press house, Recklinghausen
2014 artpark Mirror Cube No. 2, Neukirchen-Vluyn
2013 Z.EINS, UNESCO World Heritage Site Zeche Zollverein, Essen
2013 artpark Mirror Cube No. 1, Dorsten
2005 – 2015 Liquid sculpture: the liquid memory concentrate, national roadshow
2002 5th Art Compact Festival Baltic Sea Bad Zingst
2001 4th Art Compact Festival, Potsdam
3rd Art Compact Festival, Dorsten
2nd Art Compact Festival, Baltic Sea Bad Zingst Panzerhalle Baltic Sea Bad Zingst
2001 Indian Summer. UNESCO World Heritage Zollverein, Essen
2000 Stranded – Under Water, Baltic Sea Bad Zingst
1999 1st Art Compact Festival, Dorsten
STATEMENT
You can’t fertilise a garden by farting through the fence.
