"Moving across disciplines, my practice attends to the subtle relations between matter, mind and meaning."
I am an independent artist and designer with an interdisciplinary practice spanning artistic, curatorial, editorial and publishing work. With a particular interest in visual communication, material culture, contemporary craft and ecological thinking, I work with cultural institutions, publishers and independent businesses to create spaces for dialogue across disciplines, perspectives and forms of knowledge.
After studying Communication Design at Augsburg University of Applied Sciences and the University of Central Lancashire, I established an independent practice in communication design and illustration before completing an MA in Design (Ceramics) at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London.
Having lived and worked internationally – including in Cape Town, the Cayman Islands, Barcelona and, for more than a decade, London – I have developed a practice informed by diverse cultural contexts, experiences and perspectives. During my years in London, ceramics became an important part of my work, deepening my engagement with materials, processes and the relationship between making and meaning.
My expertise and interests find expression in one of my current endeavours, Anthrotopia – an evolving space for inquiry and critical reflection at the intersection of art, design and science. As co-founder, I lead its development, bringing together voices, material practices and forms of knowledge to explore how aesthetics, material culture and relational thinking can reshape our understanding of a more-than-human world.
Artistic Practice
In my artistic practice, I explore ways in which materials and objects can convey meaning beyond language. Drawing on my background in communication design, I am interested in how concepts can be encountered through matter, form and sensory experience rather than through words or images.
Working primarily with ceramics, often in combination with metal, glass and fibres, I explore the specific qualities of materials — their surfaces, textures and the meanings that arise from them. Rather than treating material as a passive means of giving form to a preconceived idea, I understand it as an active participant in the thinking process.
My work occupies a space between sculpture and function, where form, material and purpose remain open to interpretation. Through these encounters, meaning is not prescribed but formed through attention, touch, perception and experience.
At the centre of my practice is an interest in the reciprocal relationship between matter and mind – and in material communication as a fundamental way of making sense of the world. My work has received recognition through awards and exhibitions across Europe.
Curatorial Practice
Curating, for me, is a way of constructing relationships – between works, ideas, makers and audiences. Exhibitions often begin with a question and unfold through carefully chosen positions that connect artistic experimentation with wider cultural and environmental concerns.
Research forms the basis of my curatorial process. Through selection and juxtaposition, I bring together perspectives and practices, looking for connections, tensions and correspondences that generate a coherent narrative.
I understand an exhibition as a spatial and communicative form, where artistic positions, spatial design, visual communication and language are brought into relation, shaping the encounter with the works and allowing meaning to emerge. Materiality and sensory experience play an important role in how these relationships become perceptible.
At the centre of my practice is an interest in how aesthetic experience can contribute to processes of reflection and transformation. I seek to create conditions in which these processes can unfold, opening up space to question familiar assumptions.
Editorial Practice
My editorial practice draws on specialist knowledge of contemporary art, craft and design, an informed understanding of its practitioners and current developments, a strong grounding in visual communication, and a sensitivity to how artistic practices can be translated into editorial form.
My commissioned work for Art Aurea, a bilingual international art and design magazine published quarterly, brings these different areas of expertise together. With the character and production quality of an art book, the magazine is dedicated to exceptional practices at the intersections of contemporary craft, art and design.
For Curators’ Choice, a recurring section within the magazine, five internationally recognised artists from different fields of contemporary craft are presented in each edition. Each artist is featured across two double-page spreads, offering an editorial portrait of their practice and placing it within the wider landscape of contemporary making.
My involvement encompasses the complete development of each feature: researching artists, coordinating with galleries and museums, selecting works and images, writing the articles in German and English, and designing the final pages – allowing me to shape both the content and its visual articulation.
Publishing Practice
Anthrotopia is an evolving platform at the intersection of art, design and science. It brings together ideas, practices and perspectives, exploring how humanity’s place within a more-than-human world might be reconsidered in response to the challenges we face today.
The project is grounded in the belief that many of today’s ecological questions cannot be addressed from within a single discipline. Anthrotopia creates connections between different fields of knowledge, with particular attention to material culture, aesthetics, ecology and relational thinking.
Its activities include curated content, essays, conversations and self-initiated projects. A journal currently in development will extend this inquiry through a dedicated editorial space for bringing together diverse voices and approaches around selected themes.
As co-founder, I lead the development of Anthrotopia and shape its conceptual, curatorial and editorial direction. My role involves defining its overall trajectory and developing the projects, collaborations and formats through which the initiative continues to evolve.
Getting in Touch
To get in touch, email me at info(at)ingridruegemer.com
Follow me on Instagram for a glimpse into my latest activities and projects.
