Early Life and Professional Training

Gerda Lepke was born on March 23, 1939, in Jena. Her early years were shaped by a period of formal religious education, as she attended the Evangelical Proseminar in Nienstedt im Harz from 1953 to 1957. Following this, her path took a practical turn toward healthcare. Between 1957 and 1960, she underwent nursing training and worked within the medical field in Güstrow.

The year 1960 marked a move to Dresden, where she continued her work as a nurse in the Friedrichstadt district until 1963. It was during these years that her interest in visual arts began to take a more structured form. She enrolled in evening studies at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden (HfBK), balancing her professional responsibilities with the demands of the classroom.

By 1966, Lepke’s focus shifted fully toward her craft at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden. She spent the next five years studying painting and graphics, refining her technical approach under the guidance of Gerhard Kettner, Jutta Damme, and Herbert Kunze. This period of intensive study, which lasted until 1971, provided the foundation for her later work as a freelance painter and graphic artist.

Professional Career in Dresden and Gera

Since 1971, Lepke has worked as a freelance painter and graphic artist, splitting her time between Dresden and Gera. During the years between 1974 and 1989, she was a member of the Verband Bildender Künstler der DDR. This period of her life was marked by a steady presence in the regional art scene, leading to her involvement in several foundational groups. In 1989, she helped found the Dresdner Sezession 89, a role that later earned her honorary membership within the organization.

Her connection to the artistic community in Dresden continued through her membership in the Künstlerbund Dresden, which she joined in 1989. In 1997, she became a founding member of the Sächsische Akademie der Künste. Her work has since found its way into various public collections, including the Städtische Galerie Dresden and the Angermuseum Erfurt. In 2009, a film portrait titled "Das Bild in mir" was made about her life and practice.

Artistic Technique and Visual Style

Gerda Lepke’s pictorial language is a concrete, unmistakable expression of inner vision. Her process involves a steady, deepening layering of strokes, brushstrokes, paint drops, and splashes. These accumulated textures create color structures and line formations that may appear abstract at first glance. What begins as a recognizable object often transforms through these layers into something more fluid.

The resulting imagery is a dynamic and translucent representation of landscape and the human form. She works from an object-based starting point, using the physical world as a foundation for her lyrical compositions. The layers of ink and watercolor create a sense of movement, where the boundaries between the subject and its surroundings become porous and light-filled.

Key Works and Notable Commissions

In 1994, Lepke produced Wiesenausschnitt mit Brise, a unique piece measuring 34.0 x 48.0 cm. This work uses mixed media, specifically watercolor with ink on Vlieseline. The surface holds the marks of her hand, capturing a specific moment of light and movement through the application of ink and wash.

Her practice also extends to religious spaces. Between 2013 and 2014, she created the altar painting Die Gemeinschaft der Gläubigen. This commission was made for the Evangelische Kirche Weißer Hirsch in Dresden.