Public Republic

Interview with the painter Klio Karadim by Dessislava Berndt
Translated from German by Dessislava Berndt, Proofreading: Simon Pavlov

Klio Karadim, Photo: private

Klio, how did you get into painting?

In the 80’s in Bulgaria you had to choose your further school after the 7th school year. I didn’t want to become a secretary in an office. My mother was a photographer, my aunt was a sculptor and my uncle was a painter. So, I wanted to do something related to art and maybe even become an artist. Therefore, I applied for the school of applied arts in Sofia, Textile Faculty.

The gallery in Nikolai district , Photos: desenze

After my higher education entrance qualification I painted and sold my pictures on the streets along the Black Sea.

The gallery in Nikolai district, Photo: Klio Karadim

In 1988 I met a family from the former GDR that bought a picture from me. In 1991, after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, I was invited from this family to Halle / Saale. There, I passed the entrance exam at the Burg Giebichenstein University for art and design Halle / Saale and studied there from 1991 to 2001.
In 2000 I moved to Berlin and in 2006 I opened my own gallery: „Galerie Am Kollwitzplatz“.

Pictures and other items, Photo: Klio Karadim

Who or what influences your work?

In the past, it was the place where I lived, the situations outside our house or my family. Today, I work almost entirely on behalf of clients and develop their stories together with them in order to capture these situations and moments later, on canvas.

What do you like about your job?

My job is never boring. Even if I paint Brandenburger Tor 40 times, every picture of it is different. I can decide on my opening times by myself. However, I have to work more than 18 hours on some days.

United Buddy Bears – Buddy Bear for Bulgaria,
Photo: Klio Karadim

Do you cooperate with other artists?

I create my own world and sell my own pictures. Unfortunately, this means I very rarely attend exhibition openings and don’t know much about the Berlin art scene.

Why do you like Berlin?

Berlin gave me the chance to live and work here in a way I’ve always dreamed of. I feel free to do anything I want and nobody is disturbed by that because Berlin is open for all people. However, you have to work very hard and, of course, be careful not to get lost in the big city.

Poster Berlin, Photo: Klio Karadim

What is your dream?

My dream is to have more time to work on my encaustic pictures where I can let off steam and work more creatively.

Bags and Pictures of Berlin, Photo: Klio Karadim

Could you tell us something more about your future plans?

I wish to be surprised by the future. There are always millions of possibilities which all lead in different directions.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Klio Karadim told her story at beBerlin together along with another 24 entrepreneurs:

In summer 2014, 180 entrepreneurs from Berlin applied for this project. Klio was one of the 25 nominated entrepreneurs. The stories were also published by Elsengold Verlag.

http://www.sei.berlin.de/25/top25

Klio Karadim was born in 1970 in Sofia. There, she studied in the high school of applied art from 1984 till 1989 and obtained a diploma. In the 90’s she studied Painting and Graphics at the Burg Giebichenstein University for art and design in Halle / Saale. She studied further in the class of Prof. U. M. Reimkasten. She successfully completed one semester at „Akademie der Bildenden Künste” in Vienna and had a two months stay in Mexico.
Klio received grants from the international foundation “Hl. Kyril und Method”, DAAD and the Max-Klinger Academy in Naumburg.

Since 2001 she has been living in Berlin where she has been running the Galerie am Kollwitzplatz together with her husband since 2006.

In July 2014, she opened her next gallery in the heart of Berlin, in Nikolai district. For more than ten years she has been taking part in the Christmas Market at Gendarmenmarkt.

karadim.com
Galerie Klio Karadim
Husemannstr. 3
10435 Berlin (Prenzlauer Berg)
Galerie Klio Karadim
Propststr. 1 (gegenüber AM NUSSBAUM 8 im Nikolaiviertel)