Malerin Paula Kamps mit 36 Jahren gestorben
German painter Paula Kamps has died at the age of 36. Her Paris gallery, Sans titre, announced the news but did not disclose the cause of death. Born in Cologne in 1990, Kamps studied philosophy at the Free University of Berlin before transferring to the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where she became a master student of painters Tomma Abts and Elizabeth Peyton. Working between figuration and abstraction, she created fragile, dreamlike worlds using glazes, watercolor, and drawing techniques, often depicting ghostly figures, plants, and everyday scenes on the verge of disappearance. Painter André Butzer described her fluid color forms as "stains" spreading across the canvas. Kamps also published poetry and artist books. She had been represented by Galerie Sans titre since 2021 and showed in Chicago, Hong Kong, Milan, Berlin, and Zurich; an early-2025 solo exhibition at Galerie Christine Mayer was her most recent.
Kamps's death at such a young age cuts short a promising career marked by a distinctive, sensitive visual language that resonated internationally. Her gallery's tribute underscores the loss of a "rare sensibility" in contemporary painting. The art world loses an artist who bridged German and international scenes, whose work—and the memory of those who encountered it—will continue through exhibitions and her published writings.