About

About the artist

Heiner Radau, a native Berliner, has been capturing the essence of global metropolises since 2015. From his hometown to international hubs like London and Paris, Radau has immersed himself in diverse urban environments. His artistic journey has taken him to Southeast Asia (for example Vietnam and Laos in 2016) and Europe (Valencia, Brussels, Basel in 2019). He drew 10 cities since his debut, and is adding new ones every year.

Heiner drawing in Bali, Indonesia, 2024

For 30 days, Radau draws the busy scenes of these cities with a pen and ink, right on the streets. The daily diary-esque drawings add up on the paper and store the time and stories. They are weaving themselves together into an intricate pattern of black and white lines, pulsating with life and personal experiences from the city.

 

 

From Streetart to Switzerland
Heiner Radau started out as a Berlin graffiti artist, and slowly evolved into a celebrated draftsman. In 2017, he gained local prominence as the 'subway-POP-UP-artist' by showing his art directly to commuters in Berlin's underground system. This unique approach garnered attention from the local newspaper TIP Berlin and subsequently led to a feature on public television (mdr). The exposure from the television program caught the eye of a prominent gallerist, resulting in an invitation to exhibit at the prestigious Hilt Gallery in Basel, Switzerland, in 2018.

Heiner Radaus feature in Berlins newspaper "TIP" 2018

Heiners roots in street-art remain clearly visible in his works, giving them a raw energy and an urban character, but it is well balanced with the linework and precision of a swiss clockmaker. 

Heiner Radau at his Vernissage in Gallery Hilt, Switzerland, 2019

 

Screen printing
Heiner acquired his black and white art-style due to working intensively with the technique of screen printing since 2013. The results of his studies in textile design at the Berlin Weißensee Art Academy blossomed for the first time during his Bachelor Project: Graffiti on Silk Scarves. Rather than outsourcing to a French screen printing company, Heiner opted to invest his resources in producing the silk scarves himself. He sourced the necessary materials, including dyes from America, silk from China, and screen printing frames from Germany. By using reactive dyes and algae powder to mix a printing paste and steaming the printed fabric before rinsing out the algae paste with multiple washes, the silk fabric remained smooth and incredibly soft to the touch. Despite having no prior experience, he successfully learned the intricacies of screen printing on silk by D.I.Y. All 7 designs were accurately screen printed by hand, with up to 7 colors.

"Graffiti on Silk Scarf", Heiners Bachelor Collection, Berlin, 2013

 

From Luxury to Souvenir
The scarves were fantastic, but finding a retail outlet proved challenging. Despite visiting New York and Paris, Heiner struggled to secure distribution in high-end designer stores due to his lack of brand recognition. To lower the printing effort and production cost, Heiner simplified the design by focusing on black and white art. To speak to a larger public, he started to not only draw graffiti but also urban spaces and segments of his city. To become more well known, he started to draw in public. The concept of  TRAVEL & DRAW was born. He graduated from art university with this concept in 2015, and ever since he has been working on his vision of making a living from his art by travel-and-drawing cities around the world.