Artist biography

From medical research to a surreal world of dreams

When Gabriele Breu moved from Munich to the Chiemgau region at the end of 2019, after many years of city life, she had no idea that the move would give her life a new direction. Lockdown followed soon afterwards. The world fell quiet, gatherings with family and friends came to an end, and the tall white walls of her new loft apartment suddenly became a space of resonance for questions that had long had no place: Who am I beyond my role, my achievements and my past? Which dreams have I lost? And which images still live within me?

Art had never disappeared from Gabriele Breu’s life. Even as a child, she lived in colour, drawing, painting and creating fantasy worlds of her own. Art was a retreat, a place of shelter and an inner home. Yet she initially followed a different path, working for many years in medical research, including research into new cancer medicines. Her curiosity about deeper connections, about the invisible behind the obvious, always remained; only art receded into the background for a long time.

It was the stillness of the pandemic that opened this door again. On solitary walks, Gabriele Breu began photographing her surroundings: landscapes, moods, perspectives and fleeting moments. From these snapshots, she developed digital collages in which reality, memory and imagination overlap. What began as a personal return to creativity grew into a distinctive artistic language. In June 2022, she left her job and committed to a career as a freelance artist.

In her work, Gabriele Breu explores the question of what is reality and what is interpretation. Her digital visual worlds are visual diaries in which psychology, spirituality, memory and introspection merge. Colours, shapes and photographic fragments are intuitively combined, condensed and reassembled. The result is a series of layered spaces that open up possibilities rather than offer explanations: for ambiguity, for new perspectives and for a quiet sense of wonder at life’s many meanings.

The digital medium gives her precisely the freedom her art needs. She can work while travelling, absorb impressions immediately and spontaneously develop her inner images. Travel, experiences of nature and personal reflection feed directly into her process. Her works are more than compositions: they are inner landscapes, spaces between reality and dreams, between the past and new possibilities. Since embarking on her artistic career, Gabriele Breu has exhibited internationally and sold her work worldwide. Her works can be found in Hawaii, South Tyrol and Singapore, among other places. Positive responses, sales and feedback from experts affirm her chosen path. Looking ahead, she plans to develop her digital visual language further through new printing techniques, sculptural elements, light installations and the connection between art and design. Gabriele Breu now lives and works in Kolbermoor in the Chiemgau region. Her art shows that crises can be more than ruptures; they can also be doors to inner truth, new freedom and images that reveal what has long remained hidden.