Christiaan Dirk Tonnis (born 5 June 1956) is a German symbolist/realist painter, draftsman, video artist and published author. He studied at the HfG Offenbach with Dieter Lincke and , and lives in Frankfurt, Germany.
Work Tonnis' works are "supported with psychological knowledge"Hoffmann, Kai, "Hübsches Frauengesicht als Flickwerk", Frankfurter Rundschau, 20 February 1986 His earliest drawings reflect his interest in psychoanalysis and psychopathology such as, catatonic rigidity or the postnatal psychosis depicted in his 1980–85 collection. To "show the psychic as a second face" he "uses stitchings, masks and fragments of masks—they are sometimes barely visible""Das Gesicht hinter dem Antlitz", Gießener Allgemeine Zeitung, 20 October 1986
In 1986, he started to paint landscapes from literature like the "Magic Mountain (after Thomas Mann)" and portraits of writers and philosophers as William S. Burroughs, Virginia Woolf, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and more. His large scale triptych "Frost" is "a material image in harsh black and white which depicts a literary landscape of snow and ice in different viewpoints [...] a picturesque transformation of Thomas Bernhards 1963 novel"."Christiaan Tonnis: Thomas Bernhards Frost", kunstaspekte.de, 12 August 2011
Since 2003 his work has become more meditative: "Geometric patterns in bright colors","Erste Vernissage im 'Höpershof'", Wedemark Echo, 11 November 2006 consistent with Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol) and New Testament—the series of minimalistic "Meditation pictures".
"Catwalk!" was exhibited at the Showroom Eulengasse in Frankfurt, Germany in 2007. The exhibition consisted of a series of collages created of cats' heads on women's bodies. The most recognizable bodies are those of Virginia Woolf "with big, sad eyes" and Kate Moss.Frick, Solveig, "Keine Angst vor Virginia Woolf", Frankfurter Rundschau, No. 86, Page 31, 13 April 2007
In 2006 Tonnis set up a MySpace page dedicated to Thomas Bernhard, using pictures tell his biography. The theme of the page was Bernhard's motto "In the darkness everything becomes clear."
In 2008 Tonnis started to contribute reviews on art to the style magazine Dazed Digital, London."Contributors", Dazed Digital, Dazed & Confused Magazine
2009: During the "Sommeratelier" at Kunstverein Familie Montez, Frankfurt,Schütte, Christoph, "Kunst mit Familienanschluss", Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, R4 Kultur, 21 June 2009 he created a painting for the performance "Who let the dogs out, Edith?". This "experimental collage of different media and arts" has been a dialogue with Heinrich von Kleist's play Penthesilea, directed by Hans-Jürgen Syberberg in 1988 with actress Edith Clever.
With the mural of a golden cross on black and violet ground—divided into pixels—Tonnis has been one of 36 international artists who designed the "Pixelkitchen" in January 2013, a tiled room of 177.2 inches height at the Günes Theatre in Frankfurt.Troschke, Antonia, "Menü mit Allem", Frankfurter Rundschau, No. 20, RS/B7, 24 January 2013 "All these artworks are glued, painted or nailed onto the walls."
On June 20, 2021, Tonnis performed "Novalis" as a live stream at the Eulengasse exhibition space. In his glowing hand he held a bouquet of blue flowers and used them to write two passages from Novalis' novel Heinrich von Ofterdingen on a large scale horizon. The inscription of a poetic text from the early Romantic period is to be read “as an alternative to our swaying world that has gotten out of joint”."Christiaan Tonnis - Novalis", artfacts.net"Christiaan Tonnis - NOVALIS", eulengasse.de
Christiaan Tonnis is a member of the St. Paulsgemeinde Frankfurt, which is holding church service at the Old St Nicholas Church, and the ."Kurzbiografie Christiaan Tonnis", kunstaspekte.de
Video Tonnis started to make videos in 2006. His subjects have included William S. Burroughs, Thomas Bernhard and the poet Georg Trakl. Alongside these works stand the video series of "Dreams", "Electrical Pictures", and animals—exhibiting a pop, surreal pictorial language, often humorously staged.
Since 2009 Tonnis produced 133 short documentaries about art projects, exhibition setups, openings and interviews for the Kunstverein Familie Montez.Tonnis, Christiaan, "Kunstverein Familie Montez – Werkverzeichnis 2009–2021", YouTube Playlist Of these, 16 works from December 2020"Kunstverein Familie Montez | Ein ganz normaler Herbst, nur anders ... 2020", Christiaan Tonnis YouTube Playlist show the process of creating an 18 × 3.25 meter mural that was created by more than 40 artists in the joint project "Ein ganz normaler Herbst, nur anders ... 2020" ("A completely normal autumn, just different ... 2020).Anja Laud: "Ein Fest der Lebensfreude", Frankfurter Rundschau, fr.de, 2020-12-23 The short documentaries go together with a "Family Album", created out of video stills.Tonnis, Christiaan, "Kunstverein Familie Montez – Familienalbum"
Solo exhibitions (selection) 1986: Zeichnungen, Galerie Das Bilderhaus, Frankfurt 1986: Zeichnungen, Galerie 42, Gießen 1989: Christiaan Tonnis, Galerie Einbaum, Frankfurt 1990: Christiaan Tonnis, Galerie Limberg, Frankfurt 2006: Dialog, Kunstverein Eulengasse, Frankfurt 2006: Zeichnung und Malerei, Höpershof, Hannover-Wedemark 2007: CATWALK!, Kunstverein Eulengasse, Frankfurt 2010: Hinter dem Spiegel (with a performance by Eva Moll), Klosterpresse, Frankfurt 2011: Christiaan Tonnis: Thomas Bernhards "Frost", Kunstverein Eulengasse, Frankfurt 2019: Christiaan Tonnis – Screening Montez 2009–14, Kunstverein Familie Montez, Frankfurt 2021: Christiaan Tonnis – Novalis (Performance), Kunstverein Eulengasse, Frankfurt
Group exhibitions and festivals (selection) 2007: Sem Palavras / Ohne Worte, Instituto Histórico de Olinda, Olinda 2008: Antarctic Meltdown, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Melbourne 2008: Sanlu Yishu, Huajiadi Beili Wangjing, Beijing 2008: Digital Fringe 08, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Melbourne 2008: Road Movie, Frieze Film at 6. Frieze Art Fair and Channel 4, London 2008: Electrofringe, This Is Not Art, Newcastle 2009: Gut ist was gefällt, Kunstverein Familie Montez, Frankfurt 2010: 2009 Was A Rough Year – Lilly McElroy, Thomas Robertello Gallery, Chicago 2012: Terremoto – Beben, by Nikolaus A. Nessler, in collaboration with Christiaan Tonnis (Film), Nico Rocznik (Light) and Manuel Stein (Sound), Kunsthaus Wiesbaden"Terremoto – Beben" kunstaspekte.de, 24 March 2012 2013: Wurzeln weit mehr Aufmerksamkeit widmen, Kunstverein Familie Montez and Der Laden/Bauhaus University, Weimar 2014: Les Fleurs du Mal – Dithering Cities, Luminale, Frankfurt"Luminale – Biennale der Lichtkultur", Messe Frankfurt, light–building.messefrankfurt.com, Page 21 2015: Kunst Messe Frankfurt 15, Kunstverein Familie Montez, Hall 1.2, Messe GmbH, Frankfurt 2017: Supermarket 2017, Stockholm Independent Art Fair, StockholmSupermarket 2017 – Stockholm Independent Art Fair kunstaspekte.de. Retrieved 24 March 2017 2018: Quinceañera, Kunstverein Eulengasse, FrankfurtQuinceañera, artfacts.net 2018: Supermarket Art Fair, Daily Film Documentation of Performances, StockholmSupermarket Art Fair – Talks and Performances, presented by Kunstverein Familie Montez supermarketartfair.com 2019: Latitudes Festival, Santa Cruz de la Sierra 2019: Open/Occupy II, Kunstfabrik am Flutgraben, BerlinOpen/Occupy II, artfacts.net 2020: Ein ganz normaler Herbst, nur anders ..., Kunstverein Familie Montez, Frankfurt 2021: Platforms Project Net 2021, Platforms Project – Independent Art Fair, Athens 2021: be**pART, Atelier Montez, Romebe**pART Atelier Montez, Rome, artfacts.net 2022: Kurswechsel, Kunstverein Eulengasse, Frankfurt 2023: it's about community ..., TOR Art Space, Frankfurtit's about community ..., TOR Art Space, Frankfurt, artfacts.net 2024: Mythos - Malerei, Klosterpresse, FrankfurtMythos - Malerei, artfacts.net
Curated exhibitions 2011: Schamanismus aus dem Großen Altai, Kunstverein Eulengasse, Frankfurt"Алтайские художники шаманят в Германии", Контрабанда, 12 September 2011 2011: Meg Cebula. Geheimnis und Schönheit, Kunstverein Eulengasse, Frankfurt"Meg Cebula", Journal Frankfurt, No. 13, Page 76, 2011-05"Meg Cebula. Geheimnis und Schönheit" kunstaspekte.de, 27 May 2011
Bibliography Christiaan Tonnis: Krankheit als Symbol, Berlin Pro Business, 1. Edition 2006-11-03, 2006, Christiaan Tonnis, Oswald-von-Nell-Breuning-Schule and the town of Rödermark: 5+5=1!, DVD-Video (25 min.), 2011, archived at the town of Rödermark ROT – Das Magazin des Kunstvereins Eulengasse, Axel Dielmann-Verlag, Frankfurt, 2013, p. 15-16, 145, 148-149, 15, Kerstin Krone-Bayer and Hanna Rut Neidhardt (Publishers): Montez im Exil – Kunstverein Familie Montez, Frankfurt, 2014, Familie Hecht – Eine Erinnerung, 2017, DVD-Video, in collaboration with the Oswald-von-Nell-Breuning-School, Rödermark, archived at the Jewish Museum Frankfurt Christiaan Tonnis – Die Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei, epubli Verlag Berlin, 2017, Christiaan Tonnis – Das grafische Werk: 2006–2017, epubli Verlag Berlin, 2017, Christiaan Tonnis – Videos 2009–2017, Kunstverein Familie Montez, Werkverzeichnis, epubli Verlag Berlin, 2017, Christiaan Tonnis – Copy and Paste, epubli Verlag Berlin, 2017, Christiaan Tonnis – Texte und Schriften: 1986–2017, epubli Verlag Berlin, 2017, Christiaan Tonnis – Catwalk: Die Collagen, epubli Verlag Berlin, 2019, Marlies ter Borg: Bipolar creativity: through the ages, Independently published, 2021-02-16, p. 69, back cover, Christiaan Tonnis – Copy and Paste 2, epubli Verlag Berlin, 2021, Christiaan Tonnis – Das grafische Werk: 2006–2022, epubli Verlag Berlin, 2022, Christiaan Tonnis – Das fotografische Werk 1, epubli Verlag Berlin, 2022, Christiaan Tonnis – Das fotografische Werk 2, epubli Verlag Berlin, 2022, Christiaan Tonnis – Das fotografische Werk 3, epubli Verlag Berlin, 2023,
References
External links
Christiaan Tonnis in German National Library Christiaan Tonnis – Official Homepage Christiaan Tonnis on artfacts.net Christiaan Tonnis on re-title.com Christiaan Tonnis – Kunstverein Familie Montez – Family Album