Waldemar Grzimek was born in 1918 in East Prussia (today Poland). In 1924, the family moved to Berlin. He studied sculpture at the University of the Arts in Berlin from 1937 to 1941. In 1942 he received a scholarship for a residence at the Villa Massimo, Rome. After the war he was professor of sculpture at the University of the Fine Arts in West Berlin for three years. From 1957 to 1961 he held a professorship at the Weissensee University of the Arts in East Berlin and in 1959 was awarded the National Prize of the GDR for his contribution to the Buchenwald Memorial. In 1961 he moved to West Berlin. In 1964 he took part in documenta III and from 1968 to 1984 was professor of sculpture at the Technical University in Darmstadt. Grzimek died in West Berlin in 1984.
Dieter Hacker was born in Augsburg (Bayern) in 1942. From 1960 to 1965 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. In 1970 he moved to West Berlin, where he opened the 7th Produzentengalerie. In the 1980s and 1990s he produced several films and worked for the theatre, designing sets and directing plays. From 1990 to 2007 he taught as a professor at the University of Arts, Berlin. Hacker lives and works in Berlin.
Sylvia Hagen was born in Treuenbrietzen (Brandenburg) in 1947. She studied medicine at the Humboldt University in East Berlin from 1966 to 1969, but then decided to work as an artist. From 1971 to 1976 she studied sculpture at the Weissensee University of the Arts in East Berlin. In 2006 and 2017 she was awarded the Brandenburg Art Prize. Hagen lives and works in the Oderbruch (Brandenburg).
Angela Hampel was born in Räckelwitz (Saxony) in 1956. She studied at the Academy of Art in Dresden from 1977 to 1982. From 1984 she ran studios in Dresden and East Berlin. In 1989 she was a co-founder of the Dresdner Sezession 89. In 1990 she received the Marianne Werefkin Prize of the Association of Berlin Women Artists and in 1998 an exchange scholarship from the Ohio Arts Council in Cleveland (USA). Hampel lives and works in Dresden and Berlin.
Rolf Händler was born in Halle/Saale (Saxony-Anhalt) in 1938. He studied commercial art at the University of Applied Art in Magdeburg from 1956 to 1959 and painting at the Weissensee University of the Arts in East Berlin from 1961 to 1966, then was a masters student of Karl Erich Müller at the German Academy of Arts, East Berlin, until 1972. Afterwards he worked as a freelance painter and graphic artist. Händler died in Berlin in 2021.
Stephanus Heidacker was born in 1959 in Ostercappeln near Osnabrück (Lower Saxony). He studied at the University of Fine Arts in Braunschweig from 1979. Following his studies, he moved to West Berlin and has been a freelance painter there since that time. Heidacker lives and works in Berlin and Atlanta (USA).
Martin Heinig was born in 1958 in Husum (Schleswig-Holstein). He studied from 1979 to 1986 at the University of Arts, West Berlin, under Wolfgang Petrick and Georg Baselitz. He took part in Baselitz’s master class. Since 1986 he has worked as a freelance artist. The presentations of his large-format works, especially in Germany, Canada and China, were particularly significant. Heinig lives and works in Berlin.
Bernhard Dörries was born in Hanover in 1898. From 1917 to 1918 he studied architecture at the Technical University in Hanover, but then switched to painting. In 1919 he joined the Hannoversche Sezession. In 1937 he was awarded the Grand Prix at the Paris World Exhibition for a portrait of a girl. From 1938 to 1945 and from 1955 to 1967 he was a professor at the University of the Fine Arts, West Berlin. Dörries died in Bielefeld (North Rhine-Westphalia) in 1978.
Sighard Gille was born in Eilenburg (Saxony) in 1941. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig from 1965 to 1970 under Bernhard Heisig and Wolfgang Mattheuer. He was a master student in Heisig’s class at the Academy of Arts of the GDR, East Berlin, from 1973 to 1976. His main works include the monumental ceiling painting in the Neue Gewandhaus in Leipzig, created between 1980 and 1981. Since 1992 he has taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig. Gille lives and works in Leipzig.
Dieter Goltzsche was born in Dresden in 1934. From 1952 to 1957 he studied at the University of Fine Arts in Dresden. He was then a master student at the Academy of Arts, East Berlin. In 1978 he was awarded the Käthe Kollwitz Prize of the Academy of Arts of the GDR. From 1980 to 1992 he was a lecturer in graphic arts at the Weissensee University of the Arts in Berlin, then a professor until his retirement in 2000. In 1998 he was awarded the Hannah Höch Prize of the State of Berlin. Goltzsche lives and works in Berlin.