MAIL ART

Mail art is an avant-garde practice that involves sending letters, postcards, envelopes and similar non-artistic items which, through artistic design and/or deliberate manipulation, are elevated to the status of works of art and delivered by post to one or more recipients. The artistic transformation is carried out freely in terms of technique by designing special versions of postcards and letters, which are then sent. In doing so, Mail Art is deliberately non-commercial and operates outside the established channels of distribution and marketing.

It is precisely this – breaking free from the conventions of art presentation and marketing, and collaborating with artists from all over the world – that appeals to me so much about Mail Art. In artistic circles, collaborative projects are initiated through ‘Mail Art Calls’, in which artists are invited to submit artistic contributions on a given theme in postcard format. The conditions are always the same. All techniques are permitted, all works (provided they are ethically acceptable) are accepted, no work is returned, and the organisers are responsible for presenting the works in physical and digital exhibitions and catalogues.

I have contributed to the following mail art initiatives:

FLOWERS FOR PEACE

To mark its 25th anniversary, the Eulenspiegel Gallery in Basel launched this mail art project in 2026. The call for entries is still open. The submitted works can be viewed on the gallery’s website. Exhibitions are planned in Basel and Sigriswill in Switzerland. I participated with the satirical and certainly somewhat cynical and pessimistic work ‘It didn’t work’. Further information on this project will follow.

It didn't work (2026)
Tempera, ink, pastels
14,8 x 10,5 cm

CAN ART BE THE TOOTH-LESS TIGER THAT BITES TRUMP?

The call for entries for this mail art project came from the Cologne-based artist Clementine Klein immediately after Donald Trump’s first election as US President. Artists were invited to show Mr T. and the world, in postcard form, that the emperor has no clothes. 75 artists took part, submitting 140 works. They can be viewed on the project's website. Between 2017 and 2021, the works were exhibited in Cologne, Duesseldorf, Deggendorf, Toblach/Dobbiaco, Hamburg, Vilshofen, Regensburg, Leverkusen, Monheim, Munich, Ulft (NL) and Ulm. A German-English catalogue was published to accompany the project. I participated with the work ‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’, with which I won the audience award, decided by public vote at all the exhibitions.

Fair is fpul and foul is fair (2017)
Pastels
14,8 x 10,5 cm

BEGINNING – FAREWELL – END – BEGINNING

The call for entries for the Spaltenstein Project, based in the Lake Constance region, explored life and death, saying farewell, and the inherent beginning that accompanies it. 171 participants from 25 countries submitted 515 works. Launched in 2012, the project was exhibited at venues including Lorch Abbey, Stuttgart, Bad Waldsee and Ravensburg. A German-language catalogue was published to accompany the project. I participated at this project with my work ‘Farewell’.

Farewell (2012)
Tempera
14,8 x 10,5 cm