Katze Fam

For me, being an artist means not perceiving anything else in the moment of creation. Then I am completely in my own world – the world of Micaella.

The girl from a family of artists who tried everything not to be an artist – and yet always was.

My paintings are diverse, vibrant, different. A piece of me remains in each one. A piece of my shattered self, reassembling itself piece by piece.

Born in Chișinău, Moldova, in 1987, I came to Germany at the age of 14. After graduating from high school, I went to the University of Cologne. After completing my master's degree in art history and German studies, I worked in auction houses, galleries, and most recently in various museums as a museum educator.

But I couldn't help but create something with my hands – so I began teaching art classes at art schools. Along the way, I met special people who guided me. For example, the director of the Solingen Museum, who asked me: Micaella, would you like to teach art classes for children? Or Bence Fritzsche. The articles in the magazine Atelier were my works of art, because Mr. Fritzsche always gave me complete freedom. I was allowed to simply suggest my ideas to him – and most of the time I was allowed to write about it.

How does one go from studying art history and German studies to saying: I am an artist – even though one has no "real" training? Quite simply: It took me 37 years to accept who I really am. I forget everything around me when I'm in my studio. I've always been interested in all techniques, and the artists I interviewed were closer to me than others. But for a long time, I fought against it – or simply needed time to understand that you can't run away from who you are.

I grew up with my grandmother and always watched what she did. I was allowed to color her sketches, make papier-mâché, and design eyes and faces. On one of her last nights, she saw one of my works. My mother told her what it represented, because my grandmother was 95 years old and couldn't hear or see well anymore. But she smiled—and for my mother, it was a comfort in that moment to hold something in her hands that she could talk about. And yet, my mother had never thought much of art. She died a month after my grandmother.

Yes, that's personal – but my art is personal. I'm going through the most difficult time of my life, and my art saves me a little more every day. I've found something that fulfills me, and I'm grateful for that. I don't have a classical education – but I do have ideas. And the feeling that I can achieve anything if the right people accompany me on my path.

Dates

January 9, 1987 – born in Chișinău, Moldova

2007 – High school diploma in Cologne, followed by a bachelor's degree at the University of Cologne.

2014 – Master of Arts in Art History and German Studies.

2014 – present – freelance editor for the magazine Atelier.

2015 – 2018 – freelance museum educator at the Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen.

2016 – 2021 – freelance museum educator at the Kunstmuseum Solingen.

2017 – 2021 – Lecturer at the Junior University Wuppertal

2019–2021 Lecturer at the Leverkusen Youth Art Groups

2021–2023 Freelance museum educator at the Museum and Forum Schloss Homburg, Nürburg

2024 Advanced training in interior painting