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.

education

2017-18
Studio grant from the Hessian Cultural Foundation in New York City (catalog)
2011
Master student
2008-11
Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main, under Prof. Christa Näher
2007
Kuvataideakatemia, Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki
2004-08
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, under Prof. Sean Scully

selected solo exhibitions

2025
Suite B., Walter Storms Galerie, Munich
“Bilder für Bamberg”, Internationales Künstlerhaus Villa Concordia, Bamberg
2024
“Bilder für Bamberg”, Internationales Künstlerhaus Villa Concordia, Bamberg
Return, Walter Storms Galerie, Munich
2022
pariete, Heussenstamm Stiftung, Frankfurt am Main
2020
music while it’s raining, (with Tilo Schulz), Kunstraum Potsdam
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)

selected group exhibitions

2023
Ever. Present. Past. History as Inspiration. Neue Galerie, Hessen Kassel Heritage
update. Highlights and New Works from the Municipal Art Collection, Raum für Kunst und Stadt, Frankfurt am Main
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
Lust for Life, Metzler-Saal Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main