Biography of Eberhard Havekost
Eberhard Havekost (born 1967 in Dresden, Germany) is a German contemporary painter currently working in Berlin and Dresden. Strongly influenced by Gerhard Richter, Havekost is known for his so-called Photoshop realism, whereby he uses personal photographs, or found images from TV and video, as the foundation for his paintings. The subject matter varies considerably, ranging from depictions of flat architectural environments, to the more disturbing and poignant. The common thread uniting the works is Havekost's endeavor to highlight the falsehood of perceived realities. Just as the artist has digitally manipulated his images prior to translating them to painting, the works act as a reminder of the filtered nature of daily life whereby what we perceive is always subjective and—ultimately—incomplete.
The artist Eberhard Havekost was awarded the prestigious Karl Schmidt-Rottluff scholarship in 1999 and has been included in a number of international group exhibitions, such as at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago (2005); the Tate Modern, London (2006); and the National Art Museum in Beijing (2008). Solo shows include the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2006) and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (2005) and his work is held in private collections around the world, including the Sammlung Reingold, Düsseldorf and the Saatchi Collection, London.
