Ingo Arnold

Ingo Arnold completed his apprenticeship in lithography in 1950 and worked from 1947 to 1955 as lithographer and offset-retoucher in various printing presses. He then studied, from 1955 to 1959, lettering and book design at the Fachschule für Werbung und Gestaltung in Berlin, where he was subsequently engaged as a teacher through 1970. In that year, Arnold turned in his diploma portfolio after studying by correspondence at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig. From then on, he has worked as an independent artist in Berlin. His work was shown both nationally and internationally, inter alia at the Triennale for Graphic Arts in Warsaw and the Biennales of Cracow, Aalborg, Lisbon and Macerata. A research expedition took him to Columbia.

In his work, Arnold reveals a tremendous passion for drawing. He has a gift for focussing extraordinary attention on everyday objects. His drawings are often based on black-and-white photographs, which he transcribes and loads with new meaning in his working process. Arnold also  incorporates photographic material directly into his graphic works. These graphic and photo-experimental montages give testimony to the precision with which he works. In the 1970s and 1980s, Arnold’s atelier in Müggelheim became a meeting place for many young artists. Besides his work in the visual arts, Arnold devotes much time to poetry. In all fields of endeavor, his work is characterized by a humanist message and an enthusiasm for telling detail.

text: Elke Neumann, translation: Darrell Wilkins