Through the integration of used sails in her maritime art, Heinke Böhnert created her individual genre, which has earned her international recognition. The Hamburg based artist is a sailor to her core, growing up amongst tiny dinghies and larger yachts. She realized her passion for yachting as she sailed the Alster, Elbe and numerous oceans throughout the world. Böhnert combines this love for sailboats, regatta scenes and the shades of the ocean in her dynamic, intensive and often large-scale paintings.

Her pieces are characterized by thick layers of paint, which give her compositions their unique structure and variety of color. Through her depictions, Heinke Böhnert has successfully modernized classical marine painting and given new, artistic focus to high tech yacht racing. One of her favored motives is yachts beginning a race, in which she artistically embeds old sails, enabling the race to feel tangible. A number of her recent compositions depict yachts sailing under spinnaker, with Heinke’s particular dynamic, powerful, at times geometric style giving her pieces a distinct radiance.

Böhnert, who was previously active in the Olympic 470 class, finds new inspiration for her artworks on board her sailboat or in regattas. Her sporty, fast-paced paintings are frequently given as prizes at international regatta events. The artist is well known far across Germany’s borders and her paintings are displayed in maritime museums and international galleries worldwide.

In 2011, Heinke Böhnert furnished the renowned “Hotel Atlantic” with 204 of her paintings. For the Olympic summer games in 2012, she created an Olympic series from sails from the top athletes’ yachts.

After an exhibition in 2013 on the SEA CLOUD, a selection of Heinke’s work was exhibited on the floating Hamburger icon – RICKMER RICKMERS.

On instruction from the Office of the Federal President, she created a painting for King Harald V of Norway. This was presented to him in June 2014 in Oslo by President Joachim Gauck.

Heinke Böhnert, born in 1961 is married and has two grown up children. She lives and works as an artist in Hamburg. Heinke is represented in North America by Atelier Newport in the historic city by the sea, Newport Rhode Island.

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