Tina Oelker (*1973, Westphalia) is an established painter who has been working continuously for over 30 years and has lived and worked in Hamburg since 1995. Her artistic practice has grown over the long term, is seriously founded, and is mature both in content and form. She is best known for the long-term project “1000 Hares” (2007–2014), a conceptual series of 1,000 original paintings that uses the hare as a central motif. Her works move between abstract and figurative painting and combine a skilled, craft-based attitude with a profound, conceptually well-considered position.
Oelker is regarded as an experienced, independent voice in the field of contemporary German painting – a strong painter with a recognizable ductus, masterful composition, and virtuoso color competence. Her practice is independent, self-sufficient, and consistently oriented towards her own programs – without gallery representation, but with direct, serious access to collectors, curators, and institutions. For collectors interested in a long-term investment, Oelker’s work offers substance, continuity, and a clear artistic signature.
Artistic Practice: Mature, Profound, and Energetically Charged
Tina Oelker’s work is characterized by long-term, conceptually coherent painting programs that have grown over decades. Instead of individual, isolated images, she develops series that are closed in themselves and composed both in content and form. The 1000 Hares are the best-known example: Between 2007 and 2014, she painted one thousand original works on the motif of the hare – each a unique, each part of a larger whole. This consistency and continuity makes her work a serious, long-term grown position in the contemporary art market.
Her painting is both abstract and figurative: The hare appears as an archetype, as an animal portrait, as a symbol of wildness, flight, hunt, and vulnerability. At the same time, the work is positive, energetically charged – a powerful, vivid painting that, despite all depth, does not feel heavy or overloaded. Oelker’s ductus is strong, recognizable, compositionally masterful. She commands the classical craft of painting – form, color, composition – at a level that testifies to decades of practice.
Particularly noteworthy is her virtuoso color competence. In projects such as “25 Colors Stockholm,” she shows herself as a master of color composition – classically skilled in the handling of form and color, simultaneously current and energetic. This combination of mature craftsmanship and positive, powerful presence makes her work an attractive investment for collectors interested in substantial, long-term art.
Material and format vary within the project but work consistently within the realm of painting (oil on canvas, large-format). Each work is an original, not a print, not a reproduction – unique and created directly by the artist. This consistency makes the 1000 Hares a coherent, self-contained work that convinces both aesthetically and in content.Tina Oelkers Arbeit ist geprägt von langfristigen, konzeptuell
Fields of Tension: Tradition, Society, Hunt, Wild, Archetypes, Gender
Tina Oelker’s work moves within a rich field of tension: between tradition and questioning, between individual freedom and societal expectations, between hunt and protection, between wildness and taming. The hare as an archetype stands at the center of this examination – a symbol that is culturally deeply anchored and at the same time remains open to new readings.
Oelker questions traditional narratives and plays sovereignly with expectations of animal representation, landscape, and figurative painting. Her work reflects societal structures, power relations, and gender roles – without being preachy, but as a powerful, visual reflection. The abundance of meanings condensed in the 1000 Hares makes the work profound and at the same time accessible – a painting that resonates and invites reflection.
Charged with archetypes, Oelker combines local placement (Hamburg, Westphalia, Germany) with international resonance spaces (New York, Portofino). Her work is rooted and at the same time open – an independent, current position that remains positive and energetic despite all depth. This balance between rootedness and openness, between tradition and questioning, makes her painting a sustainable, valuable position in the contemporary art market
1000 Hasen – Concept, Themes, and Art-Historical Context
The 1000 Hares are an independent, conceptual long-term project that uses the hare as an archetype and leitmotif. For Oelker, the hare stands not only for nature and animal, but also for flight, anxiety, wildness, and the ambivalence of protection and threat. In many works, the motif is abstracted; in others, it remains clearly recognizable as an animal portrait – the series consciously oscillates between abstract and figurative painting.
Thematically, Oelker links the hare with questions of hunt, wild, gender roles, and power structures. The work is critical of established narratives and examines how images of animals and nature are culturally charged. In doing so, she enters into a dialogue with art-historical positions that have used the hare as a symbol – from Joseph Beuys to contemporary animal representation. The 1000 Hares are thus not only a series of images, but a conceptual, avant-garde reflection on archetypes, wildness, and the role of painting today.
The series is complete (2007–2014, 1,000 originals) and was shown in Hamburg at various locations, including Hafentor 7 and Bar 439. Press reports appeared in ZEIT and WELT, among others. The work is conceived as a whole: The idea of exhibiting all originals together underlines the conceptual claim and uniqueness of the project.
Market, Prices, and Positioning for Collectors
Tina Oelker positions herself as an established, serious painter with over 30 years of continuous practice – an experienced, independent artist whose works are available through direct access to the artist. The 1000 Hares are original paintings and drawings. Each work is a unique, signed, and accompanied by a certificate.
The price level is in an accessible, serious range – ideal for collectors interested in a long-term investment. For collectors seeking established, independently working artists who work conceptually coherent, contentually profound, and formally mature, the 1000 Hares offer a rare opportunity: a completed, fully documented series that convinces both aesthetically and in content.
The series appeals to collectors interested in abstract and figurative painting and drawings, in animal motifs and archetypes, in conceptual long-term projects, and in the position of an experienced, strong painter with a recognizable ductus. Oelker’s practice is mature, profound, and at the same time positive, energetically charged – a substantial, long-term position in the contemporary art market. Sustainable, valuable, independent – a work that endures.
Exhibitions, Presence, and Contact
The 1000 Hares were shown in Hamburg at various locations, including Hafentor 7, Oberhafen, Rialto, and Bar 439. The work is also internationally located – with presentations at the Gershwin Hotel and at ALP Galleries in New York City. Press reports appeared in ZEIT (“My first thought was: ‘You can’t be serious!’”) and WELT (“Hare exorcism sets free”), among others. International platforms such as Prazzle Arts, Artitious, and LinkedIn document the work and position Oelker as an established, contemporary painter with a focus on long-term programs.
Tina Oelker lives and works in Hamburg. Studio visits are possible by appointment. For collectors, curators, and institutions interested in the work, the artist is directly available – without a gallery, but with personal, unfiltered, serious access.