Delia Hamer is a German painter that grew up in the South of Spain. After studying in Milan (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera) and then London for her Masters at UAL, she now lives and works in Amsterdam.
Hamer's Mediterranean upbringing did not only influence the narratives of mythology and religion in her works, but also her rich and vibrant colour palettes and repetition of key motifs such as the palm tree, agaves, oranges, grapefruit, and terracotta vases.
These dreamscapes of a forgotten time usually feature a female figure that is depicting the human soul with rawness and vulnerability - their eyes closed to seclude them from the harshness of the outside world. These rich landscapes, infused with her inner psyches, mirror Hamer’s memories and circumstances. She implores for the viewers to find a mutual understanding in her works. Hamer asks us to find a connection between ourselves and her pieces, and to then interrogate ourselves to find out why we have encountered this shared experience.
The impassive nude images in her paintings are full of power as they singularly dominate the scenes of saturated colours. This tension between religion and mythology creates an inexhaustible source of inspiration for Hamer as she recalls Greek mythological accounts of seasonal change and constant psychological cycles.
Rather than loneliness, solitude is instead captured by these female figures standing exclusively on their own. As Hamer describes, her work is ‘a conscious retreat back into the Garden of Eden’.