Daniel Sambo-Richter was born in 1966 in Görlitz (Saxony) and grew up in Cottbus. From 1982 to 1985, he undertook the preparatory programme in painting and graphic art at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts under Hans Scheuerecker and Uli Richter. In 1996, he was awarded a scholarship from the Sparkassen Cultural Foundation of Hesse-Thuringia, which included a residency at the Künstlerhaus Willingshausen, and that same year he received the Brandenburg Art Prize. This was followed by further national and international scholarships and residencies. Sambo-Richter lives and works in Berlin.

Hans-Otto Schmidt was born in 1945 in Bützow, Mecklenburg. In 1961 he began an apprenticeship as a carpenter before working as a qualified woodworker. He later joined the Landestheater Halle as a stage technician and, from 1965, worked at several theatres in East Berlin. That same year he began his artistic practice as a self-taught artist. In 1972 he became a member of the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR and exhibited his work publicly for the first time. From 2001 he lived and worked in Luisenhof, Uckermark. He died in Berlin in 2025.

Gerhard Hillich was born in 1944 in Bärwalde (Saxony). Following an apprenticeship as a telecommunications technician, he worked as a technical assistant in television broadcasting until 1964. He went on to study art education at the Humboldt University of Berlin from 1964 to 1969. Subsequently, he served as a research associate at the Märkisches Museum and as a lecturer in artistic practice at the Institute for Art Education, HU Berlin. A member of the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR, Hillich held his first significant solo exhibition of paintings and graphic works at the Galerie am Prater, Berlin. He died in Berlin in 2000.

Ulrich Hachulla was born in Heydebreck/Upper Silesia in 1943. After fleeing and relocating in Halle (Saale), he began taking drawing lessons in 1950. From 1963 to 1968, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig under Werner Tübke and Bernhard Heisig, among others, and graduated with a diploma in painting and graphic art. He then worked as a freelancer in Leipzig before taking on various positions at his former school from 1974. In 1993, he was appointed professor of graphic art and etching, which he held until his retirement in 2008. He was awarded the Art Prize of the City of Leipzig in 1978 and the Art Prize of the GDR in 1983. He lives and works in Leipzig.

Ulrich Hachulla was born in Heydebreck/Upper Silesia in 1943. After fleeing and relocating in Halle (Saale), he began taking drawing lessons in 1950. From 1963 to 1968, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig under Werner Tübke and Bernhard Heisig, among others, and graduated with a diploma in painting and graphic art. He then worked as a freelancer in Leipzig before taking on various positions at his former school from 1974. In 1993, he was appointed professor of graphic art and etching, which he held until his retirement in 2008. He was awarded the Art Prize of the City of Leipzig in 1978 and the Art Prize of the GDR in 1983. He lives and works in Leipzig.

Born 1937 in Crimmitschau near Zwickau (Saxony), Peter Graf attended drawing courses at the Zwickau adult education center from 1949 to 1950 under the direction of Karl Michel. In 1952, he moved to Dresden, where he took lessons from Heinz Drache and formed close friendships with artists such as Winfried Dierske, Peter Herrmann, Ralf Winkler (A.R. Penck), and Peter Makolies. Starting in 1953, he was a student of Jürgen Böttcher (Strawalde) in evening courses at the adult education center. In 1956, Graf began his studies at the Weissensee University of the Arts under Toni Mau in East Berlin. In 1971, he was one of the co-founders of the artist group “Lücke” and joined the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR in 1975. His work was honored with numerous awards, including the Hans-Theo Richter Prize of the Saxon Academy of Arts (2001). From 1985, he worked as a freelance artist in Dresden and later in Radebeul, where he lives with his family since 2002.

Peter Sylvester was born in Saalfeld (Thuringia) in 1937. From 1951 to 1954, he completed an apprenticeship as a process engraver. In 1958, he moved to Leipzig, where he attended the evening academy of the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig. His painting remained self-taught. Since 1964, Sylvester worked as a freelance artist in Leipzig and later became a member of the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR. Together with other Leipzig artists, he founded the Leipziger Grafikbörse in 1972. It was the first association of artists without jury and thus censorship in the GDR and is still active today. Sylvester took over the direction and became chairman. Study trips brought him to France, Italy, Dalmatia and Central Asia. In 1974, he was awarded the medal of the 5th International Graphic Art Biennale in Krakow. In 1987, he received the Art Prize of the City of Leipzig. Sylvester died in Leipzig in 2007.

Trak Wendisch was born in Berlin in 1958. From 1977 to 1982, he studied painting and graphic art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig under Dietrich Burger and Bernhard Heisig. After his studies, he worked as a freelance artist and in 1985 was further master student at the University of Fine Arts Dresden under Gerhard Kettner. This was followed by residencies and projects in Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico and Venezuela. Wendisch lives and works in Berlin.

Manfred Böttcher was born in Oberdorla, Thuringia, in 1933. From 1950 to 1955, he studied at the University of Fine Arts in Dresden under Wilhelm Lachnit and Heinz Lohmar, among others. He continued his education as a master student at the Academy of Arts in Berlin under Heinrich Ehmsen. He worked as an artist in Berlin from 1961 onwards. Böttcher died in Berlin in 2001.  

Stefan Reichmann was born in 1951 in Rübenau, Erzgebirge. In 1973, he moved to East Berlin and began studies at the University of the Arts in 1976. Since 1981, he has been working as a freelance sculptor in Berlin. From 1986 to 1988, he was a masterstudent at the Academy of Arts of the GDR under the guidance of Werner Stötzer. He lives and works in Berlin and Brandenburg.