CHRISTIAN DOEPKE
PIANIST, COMPOSER & VISUAL ARTIST
ART & IMPROVISATION
In a theater, jazz club or concert hall I show slow slide presentations of my artwork on a large screen and I improvise on a grand piano or keyboards alternated with my own compositions if these can enhance the atmosphere. The intention is for spectators to sit and relax on comfortable chairs in these hectic times. Nowadays all (cinema) films, videos and commercials on TV are cut hectic and fast. If you watch slide shows from great artists on the internet, they run at too fast a pace. If you want to focus on a specific work of art and press the pause button, the music will also stop. My wish is to bring people into a relaxed state of mind. Drawing gives me peace of mind and had a beneficial therapeutic effect on me. I would like to pass this experience of peace and relaxation on to my audience. In my improvisations I will use the atmosphere of the room and the energy of the audience to create a whole in which art and music merge. One person looks more at my work, the other listens to the music or is dreaming away. My slideshows will be shown at a slow pace, giving the audience ample time to take the images to work. The music and improvisations will further underline this experience and the whole concept lies therefore exactly in between a gallery visit and a concert. Reviews: 1. "In Art & Improvisation, Christian Doepke combines two talents: music and visual arts. Beautiful compositions and improvisations accompany illustrations, figurative and abstract. It seems as if the music is cinematic and the images musical, the interaction stimulates the senses, Art & Improvisation is actually a kind of total theatre. The whole is more than the sum of its parts: the combination of music and images is a form of immersive art and has an almost therapeutic effect." - Phillip Walkate 2. "Last night we experienced a wonderful and unforgettable performance 'Art & Improvisation' by composer, pianist, teacher, visual artist and friend, Christian Doepke. In our favorite theater Mascini, it's not often that a musician also treats the audience to sparkling and beautiful art that makes your imagination run wild. The art whirled into the Mascini room through a slide presentation. Christian's touches of the piano keys and his art touched our hearts and we came out of the room on wings. His compositions connect lyrical impressionistic sounds with jazz elements and create a homogeneous and unique style that fuses European and American jazz culture. Christian's goal to make the audience forget everything for a while and let the music and art penetrate deeply into people, has been quite successful last night. A grandiose performance where ears and eyes thoroughly enjoyed!" - Sylvia Dreese
My story
Visual Artist
Christian Doepke is a pianist, composer and visual artist from Munich, Germany, based in Amsterdam.
In the past 25 years he worked as a pianist and keyboard player in jazz, fusion and pop ensembles. He performed many live gigs, studio sessions, worked in TV shows, arranged and played for theater shows and film scores.
Art is Christian's second passion. He is self-taught and started sketching and painting at the age of thirty-seven. Until now, Christian has been exploring art in his own way and pace. His drawing of a sleeping dog in Thailand won the first prize of Grafimuse 2011, an international competition for painting musicians, composers or conductors.
Email: doepke.christian@gmail.com
Tel: +31(0)6 46443885
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