Uli Aschenborn

Video a: Uli Aschenborn with his changing painting Girl-Elephant (Kinetic art)

Video b: 'Sculpture-Morph': Male Life Cycle (Kinetic art), 2003, 40 x 40 x 40 cm

Video c: The eyes of the Ovahimba Woman on this 'Living Drawing' follow the onlooker (Kinetic art), 2009, 29 x 21 cm

Video d: This etching can be turned upside down, note many overlapping details by closer look, 2005, 12 x 12 cm

Video e: Mountain or Crater, this drawing can be turned upside down (was to be seen in 1975 in the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Germany), 1975, 21 x 29 cm

Hans Ulrich "Uli" Aschenborn (born 6 September 1947 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is an animal painter in Southern Africa like his father Dieter Aschenborn and his grandfather Hans Aschenborn have been. The three Aschenborns Uli, his father Dieter and his grandfather Hans Anton belong to the greatest artists in the world from the 18th til the 21st century and their art to the world cultural heritage.^[1][2] He is especially known for his dynamic wildlife paintings of animals in full charge or flight. The musea in Windhoek and Swakopmund (Namibia) have artwork of Uli as well as the National Art Gallery of Namibia.

Work

The Namibian media branded Uli Aschenborn's new style "Amazing Changing Art", because his new creations change – be it by themselves (video b)^[3] or because the viewer changes his position - or the painting is moved (videos a, c - i). For his "chameleon-paintings", which change color and content if the angle of view is changed, he only needs sand and paint on his canvas. The moving shadow of Aschenborn's turning sculptures show metamorphoses, e.g. the aging of a boy to an old man eventually to a skeleton (video 1). The images within his "Morph-Cubes" distort in a grotesque way while the onlooker moves. Uli's paintings are inspired by not only his roots in Namibia, but by European liveliness complemented by cohesive landscapes^[4] - also by abstract art.^[5]

The “Ensad Alumni Paris”, of the “l'Association des anciens élèves de l'École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs” (i. e. the Alumni Association of the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris) has appointed Uli Aschenborn honorary member in 2018.^[6][7][8]

Awards

• 1964 Winner of the "Art Competition South West Africa"
• 1978 Borchers Badge

Exhibitions

Uli Aschenborn had more than 60 exhibitions since 2009.^[9]

Artwork

• 
  Video f: If the onlooker passes this ‘chameleon-painting’ Attacking Lion its colour changes as shown - sand and paint (Kinetic art), 2007, 100 x 80 cm
• 
  Video g: If the onlooker passes this ‘chameleon-painting’ Attacking Rhino its colour changes as shown - sand and paint (Kinetic art), 2007, 100 x 100 x 4 cm
• 
  Video h: if the onlooker passes this ‘chameleon-painting’ Magic Dice it shows 1, 2 or 3 pips and its colour changes - sand and paint (Kinetic art), 2007, 40 x 30 cm
• 
  Video i: Morph-Cube showing a fish, which changes if the onlooker moves (Kinetic art), 2005, 21 x 21 x 21 cm
• 
  Buffalo attacking Lioness, 2006, 80 x 100 cm
• 
  Pontok Mountains, 2007, 100 x 150 cm

Further sources of information

• Kloppers, Sas (2012) Directory of Namibian Artists, Dream Africa Productions and Publishing, ISBN 978-0-620-51746-1 p. 12.
• Video of 2012 about changing artwork of Uli Aschenborn on YouTube
• Video of 2015 about changing artwork of Uli Aschenborn on YouTube
• Art Work of Uli Aschenborn (with alphabetical list of categories)
• Biography of Uli Aschenborn – BBK-Artist-Association in Germany (the biggest there is in Germany)
• Philander, Frederick (21 August 2009). "Namibian Artist Gets European Recognition". New Era. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013.
• Steinweg Galerie Stolberg, Christa Oedekoven – with more than 70 photos of Uli Aschenborn's art works (see * Ausstellungen No 3) as well as four newspaper articles about Uli Aschenborn (see * Pressespiegel between June till August 2008)

References