The Space Between Blooming and Retreat

Heike Büttner: Play of Colors – Autumnal Scenes – Night Thoughts

What is beauty? What does touch mean? For Heike Büttner, artistic work begins with questions like these. She seeks answers in the visible and the familiar—in the forms of growth, in the Mecklenburg landscape, or in the colors of a season. But she doesn’t stop at mere representation. She experiments with new techniques and lets forms and colors interact freely until something unexpected emerges. “Sometimes, in this process, I manage to capture a fleeting emotion,” she says.

Under the title “Color Games—Autumnal—Night Thoughts,” Heike Büttner presents works in various techniques on wood and paper. Figurative works stand alongside abstract ones; a lush autumnal floral painting sits next to free-flowing lines, circles, and enigmatic figures. Vibrant swaths of color meet dark backgrounds; abundance meets minimalism; stillness meets movement. The paintings do not follow a uniform formal language—and it is precisely in this that their connection lies.

On wood, the material’s natural grain remains visible. Grain patterns and knotholes are incorporated, played around with, or traversed by streams of color. On paper, lines can unfold freely, thicken, and then recede again. Some forms are reminiscent of plants, figures, or landscapes, without being clearly definable. They leave room for the imagination.

“Farbspiele” (Play of Colors) sounds light and cheerful at first. Yet “Herbstliches” (Autumnal) and “Nachtgedanken” (Night Thoughts) also lead into quieter realms. Autumn already carries the notion of transience within its rich palette, and at night, thoughts arise that elude the order of the day. Transitions become visible between blossoming and retreat, brightness and darkness.

For Heike Büttner, artistic work also means staying true to herself and letting go of everything superfluous. In a time of external change, it is precisely this inner composure that can become a ray of hope. Thus, her exhibition takes up the LUPINALE theme “Turning Point: Upheavals and Rays of Hope” without illustrating it in a superficial way.

Exhibition opening: September 18, 2026, 6:00 p.m.
Exhibition dates: September 18 through October 17, 2026
Kunsthaus Lübz – Center for Circular Art
Kirchenstraße 20, 19386 Lübz

Hours: Friday and Saturday 3–7 p.m., Sunday 1–5 p.m.
Admission is free.