Anne Bengard

 b. 1988 Leipzig, Germany

Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

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what she does...

Anne’s work deals with issues around connection, intimacy and fetishisation, understanding the term ‘fetish’ in the context of behaviour, devotion, obsession and consumption.
At times borderline voyeuristic, her visual language uses polarities to explore social issues, norms and stereotypes and aims to create a sense of sensuality and tension.

Anne’s works ask questions rather than make statements.
Her subjects predominantly feature her long time Muse and bestie Das Fräulein Fuchs as well as friends and loved ones.
Anne is a self taught painter influenced by 90s anime and manga like Sailor Moon, old master paintings like those of Caravaggio and Rubens and 'surrealists' like Leonor Fini to name a few.
Having started with watercolour in her studio practice, she switched to oil painting in 2017. Simultaneously she began working in urban art creating large scale murals.

Her studio practice focuses on personal themes and exploration while her mural work shifts the focus on the history, people and contexts of the respective environments.

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who is sheeeee..?

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Anne was born in Leipzig, had her childhood in Berlin and relocated to South Devon, England at the age of 9. By this time she had lost all her baby teeth.
She studied Performance Design and Practice at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. She’s still not sure what exactly that was.
In her late teens she began working for London’s Torture Garden, the worlds largest fetish club. Fetish club etiquette formed her ethos of consent, respect and tolerance which now forms the basis of her work.
This led to a career in art departments and venue styling, working on the festival circuit, night clubs and private parties.
In 2014 Anne left London to fulfil her childhood dream of becoming a mermaid. She trained as a free diver in Thailand and traveled around Asia. Unable to grow gills and fins to complete her mermaid transformation, she relocated to Berlin to focus on her painting practice. 

She can hold her breath for over 5 minutes and has never smoked a cigarette.