This story has been in the works for quite some time and on September 19th, 2024 it was finally time to tell it:

I got to be part of a quite extraordinary exhibition — kindly hosted by the Städtische Galerie Rosenheim.

POESIA “Poesie der Buchstaben” [the poetry of the letters] by the late Josua Reichert.

Josua was my grandfather and one of the most important typographers of his time (I’m quoting the internet here, although I very much agree). When he died in 2020, my family and I were left with a gaping hole in our lives and a lot of his unfinished work. 2 years later, I remember my dad and me sitting in Josua’s workshop, just looking at each other… There was SO MUCH art. Everywhere. When looking closely, it was all neatly categorized and filed in boxes, but on first look, it appeared to be absolute chaos. My dad, who lived through all the phases of being an artist’s son, asked whether I wanted to look around and take anything to keep before curators would start working their way through everything. Me, always having been too young to fully grasp Jo’s genius while he was still actively working, grabbed my camera and documented the details of how Josua had left his workplace — before I started to dig. I mean, I’ve always loved vibrant colours and I grew up around his work: his prints hanging at home, going to his exhibitions, his handwriting on birthday cards. I just never understood it as art — to me, it was “something” from grandpa Jo. 

Now, that he’s gone, everything is special. 

Now, I begin to understand how important his work is and how much I would’ve loved to talk to him about it.

Now, I’m somewhat old enough to talk about art. 

Now, that I’m an artist, too.

When I started photography, I knew I liked colours. When studying transcultural communication, I knew I liked languages. When my dad talked to the gallery’s curator about what I do, they immediately connected the dots on how that’s precisely what Josua did as well: connecting visual art, with language: through printing. He hand-printed letters using multiple alphabets, mixing his own colours and layering textures. These colours helped combine cultures, helped create art. When the gallery asked me to contribute the photos I took of the “werkstatt” [workspace] to the exhibit, I felt truly honoured to be featured alongside Josua.

During the process of working on the exhibition, I found a new understanding of print. How cool it is to have colour in your home. To have art with a message in your home. To share a space with it. Getting to dive into his work again made me want to connect with it on a shared level, so I came up with a collaboration project in the process: My work featuring my grandpas work. I’m so excited to have a space we can share: his atelier & my set — our studio. Studio Reichert. 

It all started a few years ago really when I printed my favourite Josua artwork on a tshirt and a tote bag. It was just for me and just for fun. Whenever I wore the shirt, a few people asked about it and that got me thinking: How cool would it be to have Josua Reichert “merch” for the exhibit, sold at the gallery shop? Was that something people could be interested in? The response was pretty clear: YES, IT WAS! 

So I made it happen, and now it’s not just for me anymore (but still for fun!). I’m still baffled by how many people reached out and wanted to know about the items even after the exhibit had ended. We were sold out in no time (Thank you!!!!) so now we’re working hard on making his work and more results of our collaboration project available online soon. 

Thank you, tremendously, for your ongoing support. I often wonder what Josua would think of all this. I truly hope he would’ve liked it.