Viola Bittl, born in Eichstätt in 1980, is known for her haunting and multi-layered works that explore the boundaries of painting and create a dialogical space between form and abstraction. She lives and works in Frankfurt am Main.

From 2004 to 2008, Bittl studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich under Prof. Sean Scully. She spent a year of her studies in 2007 at the Kuvataideakatemia, the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki. She then continued her studies from 2008 to 2011 at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main under Prof. Christa Näher and was appointed a master student in 2011.

A significant milestone in her career was the studio scholarship from the Hessian Cultural Foundation in New York City in 2017/18, which is also documented in a catalog. This scholarship enabled her to further develop her artistic practice in an international context.

A particular highlight of her career was her participation in the exhibition “Jetzt! Young Painting in Germany” in 2020. This exhibition, curated by the Kunstmuseen Bonn and Wiesbaden, the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz and the Deichtorhallen Hamburg, placed Bittl’s work in the context of the best representatives of contemporary painting and underlined her importance in the leading discipline of art.

Viola Bittl
Born in Eichstätt in 1980,
currently residing and working in Frankfurt am Main.

2017/18 Studio grant from the Hessian Cultural Foundation in New York City (catalog)
2008 – 2011 Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main, under Prof. Christa Näher
2011 Master student
2007 Kuvataideakatemia, Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki
2004 – 2008 Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, under Prof. Sean Scully

Solo Exhibitions/Selection
2024/25 “Bilder für Bamberg”, Internationales Künstlerhaus Villa Concordia, Bamberg
2024 Return, Walter Storms Galerie, Munich
2022 pariete, Heussenstamm Stiftung, Frankfurt am Main
2020 music while it’s raining, (with Tilo Schulz), Kunstraum Potsdam
2020 New York Paintings, Projektraum basis, Frankfurt am Main
2016 Times Wire, Projektraum basis, Frankfurt am Main (catalog)
2013 face to face, Galerie Perpétuel, Frankfurt am Main, curated by Jean-Christophe Ammann
2012 One Hundred Percent, 1822-Forum, Frankfurt am Main (catalog)

Group Exhibitions/Selection
2023 Ever. Present. Past. History as Inspiration. Neue Galerie, Hessen Kassel Heritage
2023 update. Highlights and New Works from the Municipal Art Collection, Raum für Kunst und Stadt, Frankfurt am Main
2023 FOF, Studio Hendricks, Offenbach
2021/22 Intervention (with Eva Hesse, Gary Kuehn, Otto Ritschl), Museum Wiesbaden
2020 HEART – 100 artists. 1 mission, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Berlinische Galerie
2019/20 Now! Young Painting in Germany, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Museum Wiesbaden, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, Deichtorhallen Hamburg (catalog)
2017 basis.aperçu, Goethe-Institut Paris
2015 Double Feature #2, Tirana Art Lab – Center for Contemporary Art, Tirana
2013 Viola Bittl, Stef Heidhues, Philip Seibel, Eigen+Art Lab, Berlin
2012 One out of Seventeen, Friedrich Vordemberge Gildewart Scholarship, Museum Wiesbaden (catalog)
2011 encore, Graduate Exhibition Städelschule, MMK, Frankfurt am Main (catalog)
2009 Hunger – new paintings from art schools in Germany, LeRoy Neiman Center, Columbia University, New York
2009 Lust for Life, Metzler-Saal Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main