Christian Barthold — Cologne, Germany

“Collage has a destructive element that people enjoy. Since Dadaists started to use collage to come to something new, it has been accepted that you first have to destroy something already existing. That is what people love about it. You never know what will come out. I think up a starting point emphasising a simple idea, then I start improvising. One main element plus little side-stories.”

Christian Barthold is an illustrator, graphic designer, author, music composer and photographer from Germany. An experimental illustrator with a broad stylistic spectrum, his main style is collage. He has worked freelance since 1996 with ad agencies, packaging, books, magazines and newspapers and has been published on more than 100 book covers and in more than 100 magazines and newspapers worldwide. His work in the illustration field includes magazines, books and visuals for music. He specialises in engaging subjects in the field of editorial illustration.