A sneak peek ahead of the opening of the Anne Truitt exhibition at K20 Düsseldorf with color researcher and color psychologist Axel Buether, exclusively for young adults, March 27, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Anyone who engages with Anne Truitt’s sculptures encounters a richness of color that extends far beyond the appearance of a surface. Her colors take on a presence reminiscent of the sedimentary layers of lived experience. Each layer carries within it memory, perception, and mood. In the studio, this effect was achieved through the patient, repeated layering of pigment and binder until a harmony of color emerged that connects space, form, and atmosphere.

The expressive power of these works unfolds above all in the nuances of their colors. Saturation and opacity, warm and cool tones, and the relationship of one hue to its neighbor or to the surrounding light determine the emotional resonance of the work. A slightly muted pink can create a delicate, almost ethereal atmosphere. A blue modulated with gray evokes a quiet depth. A muted yellow carries warmth and memory without dominating the space. Much of the psychological impact of Truitt’s color palette lies in these subtle gradations.

This sensitivity to nuances of color reveals a clear affinity with American Color Field painting. Artists such as Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, and Ad Reinhardt developed a style of painting in which color serves as a vehicle for existential experience. Their large-scale pictorial spaces appear as atmospheric fields in which emotion, memory, and perception coalesce.

Anne Truitt consistently extends this line of thought into the space. Her vertical sculptures appear as upright fields of color that physically engage the viewer. The color forms both an atmospheric skin of the work and a field in which perception unfolds. The viewer moves around these chromatic harmonies, experiences transitions between nuances, and discovers subtle shifts in tone, saturation, and the play of light.

In this spatial presence, Truitt’s colors take on a special psychological quality. They appear like entries in a silent diary. Life stages, memories, and emotional experiences coalesce into tonal harmonies whose impact stems less from symbolic meaning than from the sensitive interplay of nuances. Color thus becomes a medium for self-affirmation and the expansion of artistic expression.

It is precisely this ability to make the subtlest differences in color perceptible that gives Anne Truitt’s work its lasting impact. Her sculptures invite us to experience color as a living space of experience: as atmospheric energy, as an echo of memory, and as a quiet force that deepens our perception and fills space with meaning.

Sneak Peek: Preview for young adults. Fri, Mar. 27, 4:00–5:30 p.m. Anne Truitt; for more information, visit the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen website

Der Beitrag Anne Truitt – Color as a Resonant Space for the Soul erschien zuerst auf Farbpsychologie.

Keynote Address by Prof. Dr. Axel Buether

On November 20, 2025, the Quadrat Bottrop Museum Center will host the “FARBEN WISSEN” symposium organized by the Essen University of Fine Arts (HBK Essen).

The symposium explores the significance and impact of color at the intersection of science, philosophy, and artistic practice. Through lectures and discussions, it will present diverse perspectives on color as a medium—from its psychological and aesthetic dimensions to its philosophical and art-historical relevance.

Presentations by:
Prof. Dr. Axel Buether, University of Wuppertal
Prof. Dr. Stephan Berg, Kunstmuseum Bonn
Dr. Alexandra Loske, Royal Pavilion, Brighton & Hove Museums
Dr. Linda Walther, Museumszentrum Quadrat Bottrop
Prof. Dr. Sabine Bartelsheim, HBK Essen
Dr. Sarah Sandfort, HBK Essen and Museumszentrum Quadrat Bottrop
Prof. Nicola Staeglich, HBK Essen
Prof. Dr. Luca Viglialoro, HBK Essen

Learn more about the event on the Josef Albers Museum Bottrop website

The colors of nature follow an inner order.
Every nuance, every combination, every shifting light carries information, expression, and meaning.
Those who understand how to interpret this order recognize in it the key to a deeper understanding of life—and of humanity itself.
Color functions as a universal principle of orientation: it structures the visible world, directs attention, and links perception with thought and action.

It structures our experience, providing direction, rhythm, and meaning.
In nature, it determines camouflage and seduction, as well as warning, trust, and belonging.
It gives living beings form and identity, connects them to their environment, and makes them recognizable—to others and to themselves.

In *The Mysterious Power of Colors*, I demonstrated that all artistic and cultural expression is based on these biological foundations.
Color is the largest and most powerful communication system on Earth—in nature as well as in human culture.
It shapes behavior and social interaction long before language emerges, and connects all living things across the boundaries of species and consciousness.

“The Great Book of Color Psychology” opens up the second level: the inner one.
For color does not merely affect the body; it shapes consciousness.
No two people see the same color in the same way.
It evokes memories, reflects attitudes, and connects the past with the present.
What we experience in art is not the color of the image, but the resonance it evokes within us.

Every color has its own character—a spiritual disposition, a way of resonating.
The interplay of these color characters gives rise to the personality of a work of art: its tone, its mood, its voice.
In this way, color becomes the inner resonance chamber of art, where the visible takes on a sense of feeling and the invisible takes shape.

Color is the language of the soul—and at the same time, the key to understanding human nature.
Those who learn to read it realize:
We do not simply see an external world,
but create it within ourselves—from who we are
and from everything we have seen, felt, and remembered throughout our lives.

Der Beitrag Color as a Medium of Perception—Psychological Effects and Artistic Potential erschien zuerst auf Farbpsychologie.

The Interdisciplinary Research Center for Islam and Muslim Women in Europe at Sigmund Freud Private University in Vienna and the Research Laboratory for Aesthetic-Islamic Education (FORLÄB) at the Berlin Institute for Islamic Theology at Humboldt University in Berlin are inviting participants to a five-day summer school on the topic “THE ART OF HEALING – The Arts as a Resource for Health” from September 26 through September 30, 2025, to a five-day summer school on the topic THE ART OF HEALING – The Arts as a Resource for Health.

This interdisciplinary summer school offers a unique opportunity to explore the connection between art, therapy, and health. Through stimulating interdisciplinary lectures and hands-on workshops on various forms of art therapy, color therapy, and aromatherapy, you will expand both your knowledge and your practical experience. Through inspiring exchanges with subject matter experts, participants will gain valuable insights from in-depth lectures and practical workshop sessions.

The summer school is primarily aimed at students from various disciplines and offers a unique opportunity to deepen their knowledge and practical skills. At the same time, researchers and professionals in these fields are also warmly invited to participate in the summer school.

Venue

Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna
Freudplatz 3, 1020 Vienna

Organizer

Interdisciplinary Research Center on Islam and Muslims in Europe (IFIME)
Research Laboratory for Aesthetic-Islamic Education (FORLÄB)
FORLÄB, which is based at Prof. Işık’s Chair of Islamic Religious Education and Practical Theology, views Islamic religious education as a holistic process of intellectual and spiritual personal development. Against this backdrop, the summer school “The Art of Healing” was launched, focusing on aroma, color, and art therapy as essential elements for developing integrative and aesthetic approaches to promote healing processes.

Excerpt from the program:

Sunday, September 28, 2025: The Healing Power of Colors

9:00–11:00 a.m. Healing Through Art, Prof. Dr. em. Ruth Hampe (Sigmund Freud Private University)

11:15 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Colors and Their Psychological Effects, Prof. Dr. Axel Buether (University of Wuppertal)

1:00–2:30 p.m. – Lunch break

2:30–5:30 p.m. Arabesque Workshop, Abdel Karim Mats Cederberg, calligrapher, Órgiva (Islamic Art Therapy)

Starting at 5:30 p.m.: Group reflection, linking theory and practice

Complete Summer School Program Available for Download

Summer School Registration

Link to the organizer, Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna

Der Beitrag The Art of Healing erschien zuerst auf Farbpsychologie.

On April 13 at 4:45 p.m., a special documentary will premiere on ARTE: Karl Schmidt-Rottluff: Passion and Rebellion. The film explores the life and work of one of the most fascinating figures of German Expressionism—and in doing so, shines a spotlight on a central theme: color as a means of emancipation, emotion, and individual perception.

I am very pleased to have contributed to this film as an expert in color psychology—not only from a scientific perspective, but also out of a deep personal enthusiasm for the expressive power that color can unleash in art. Schmidt-Rottluff was a pioneer in the use of color beyond mere representation—he let it speak, scream, and sing.

What makes this film so special is that it not only focuses on the artist but also sheds light on the psychological dimension of his work. What effect can color have on us? What messages does it convey when it is freed from realistic constraints? And why is Schmidt-Rottluff’s vision more relevant today than ever?

To mark the opening of the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff House, ARTE invites you to a free preview of the film on April 6, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at the Clubkino Siegmar in Chemnitz. ARTE Film Premiere: “Karl Schmidt-Rottluff: Passion and Rebellion” ARTE/MDR 2025 Director: Anna Schmidt 52 minutes. The artist was born on December 1, 1884, in Rottluff near Chemnitz, which is why his name includes the name of this town.

It’s a film that not only draws inspiration from art history but also touches the heart. See for yourself. Premiere: Sunday, April 13 | 4:45 p.m. | ARTE. Available in the ARD Mediathek at this link starting April 13 at 5:00 a.m.

Der Beitrag ARTE Film Premiere: “Karl Schmidt-Rottluff: Passion and Rebellion” erschien zuerst auf Farbpsychologie.

The lecture will take place as part of the foundation celebration, which will be held on August 25, 2024, starting at 6:00 p.m. at Haus Vortlage.

First mentioned in 1241, the former knight’s estate, Haus Vortlage, is one of 30 remaining moated castles in Germany. After more than 700 years of rule by the “Ritterbürtigen” family, it was ultimately sold in 1978 to Kossolapow and Manzmann, both professors at the University of Münster. Since the 1980s, Kossolapow and Manzmann have developed a unique artistic and creative method at the University of Münster designed to strengthen the life and professional skills of individuals and groups. The Vortlage Model is based on this approach, which combines science, art, and life.

Venue Address

Haus Vortlage
Vortlager Damm 7
49525 Lengerich, Germany

Link to the website of the event organizer, Haus Fortlage

Der Beitrag The Hidden Language of Colors erschien zuerst auf Farbpsychologie.

Lecture in Prof. Dr. Ulrika Eller-Rüter’s art class

When: Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Where: “Campus I – Johannishof” campus, Johannishof, 53347 Alfter

Our entire visible world consists of colors—they surround us the moment we open our eyes; they shape the beauty of our lived world, inspire our imagination, and enrich our thoughts, dreams, and fantasies. In neuroscience, however, colors exist only in our minds; through a highly complex processing mechanism—which consumes about 70% of our brain’s neural resources—they shape the images of our reality, as well as our perception, imagination, and conception of the world.

In my lecture, we’ll delve into the fascinating world of colors and discover the evolutionary principle hidden beneath their vibrant surface. Color becomes a sensory medium, a tool for connection, through which we interact with our environment.

You will learn why colors are far more than just a tool for understanding—because trillions of visible light and surface colors form a vast linguistic system that shapes our experiences and behavior—mostly completely unconsciously and involuntarily—both mentally and physically.

Using vivid examples from the animal and plant kingdoms, as well as research projects from our everyday culture, I will demonstrate how each color fulfills specific functions and shapes our daily lives. The lecture explores the deep connections between the biological and cultural dimensions of color and how these define our window to the world.

Join me on a journey of discovery that will fundamentally change your perspective on colors and their significance in our lives and our environment. Let’s work together to decipher the hidden language of colors and see the world through new eyes.

Link to the website of the organizer, Alanus University

Der Beitrag The Art of Color erschien zuerst auf Farbpsychologie.

Interdisciplinary symposium on the sense of hearing and sight

Thursday, March 14, through Saturday, March 16, 2024

To coincide with the exhibition series at the Museum Tinguely on the human senses in art, a public, interdisciplinary conference will be held in Basel.

This time, the focus is on the senses of hearing and sight, in connection with the group exhibitions *À bruit secret* (2023) and *Les témoins oculistes* (Winter 2026/2027): featuring contributions from the fields of art, culture, and history, as well as psychology, neuroscience, and the natural and technical sciences.

In addition, there will be guided tours, artistic and musical performances, and interactive activities. The public conference is aimed not only at an audience of experts but also explicitly at the general public. The presentations are free of charge and can be attended individually without prior registration.

Program

Thursday, March 14, 2024

4:30 – 5:00 p.m. Welcome: Coffee and cake

5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Soundwalk at the Tinguely Museum
Denim Szram, artist and lecturer, Basel
Limited capacity

6:30–7:30 p.m. Outdoor Recreation: A Synergy of Sight and Sound
; Beat Schäffer, Group Leader, Noise Effects, Acoustics/Noise Reduction Department, Empa, Dübendorf; and Silvia Tobias, Director, Center for Landscape Research, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf

7:45 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Themed tour: “Light, Vibration, and Perception in the Work of Otto Piene”
Sandra Beate Reimann, curator of the exhibition Otto Piene. Paths to Paradise , Tinguely Museum
Limited capacity

Friday, March 15, 2024

9:15 – 9:30 Welcome Remarks
; Roland Wetzel, Director, Museum Tinguely, Basel

9:30 – 10:30 When Sounds Taste Salty: The Brain of Synesthetes
Lutz Jäncke, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, Neuropsychology/Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Zurich

11:00 – 11:45 Rotoreliefs: Marcel Duchamp’s “Experiments in Optics”
Lars Blunck, Professor of Art History, Nuremberg Academy of Fine Arts

11:45 – 12:30 Sound Painting: The Sixth Sense of Bats
Leonie Baier, MSCA Fellow at the Marine Bioacoustics Lab, Aarhus University

2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Noise Before Noise: Politics and the Perception of Unwanted Sound Since the Pre-Modern Era
Jan-Friedrich Missfelder, SNSF-funded professor of early modern history, “Power of the Voice” project, Department of History, University of Basel

2:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. When Night Turns to Day
Eva Knop, Assistant Professor, Agroscope, Zurich & Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Zurich

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ON AIR: The Sound of Materials in Art from the 1950s to the 1970s
Sylvia Martin, Deputy Director, Krefeld Art Museums

5:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Artist Talk & Performance “SSS—Shore Scene Soundtrack”
Cevdet Erek, Artist & Associate Professor, Center for Advanced Studies in Music (MIAM) & Turkish Music State Conservatory, Istanbul Technical University
In English

5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Closing Discussion

Saturday, March 16, 2024

9:30 – 9:45 Welcome:
Annja Müller-Alsbach, Curator, Museum Tinguely

9:45–10:45 The Hidden Language of Colors: On the Perception and Effects of Colors in Nature and Culture
Axel Buether, color researcher at the Institute for Color Psychology, Wuppertal, and professor of visual communication pedagogy

11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. The Sound of the Ocean
Ilse van Opzeeland, bioacoustician, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven / Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity, University of Oldenburg

12:00 – 12:45 Hearing Things: What Do We See When We Hear?
James Webb, Artist, Stockholm
In English

2:15 – 3:00 p.m. Listening to the Earth: Art, Science, and the Environment
Marcus Maeder, Artist & Scientist, ZHdK, Zurich/FU Berlin

3:00 – 3:45 p.m. Manipulated Gaze: Visual Distortions in Modern and Contemporary Art
Eva Bader, art historian, Bern

4:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. “Enraptured Vision: The Nocturnal Gaze in Film Noir”
Elisabeth Bronfen, Professor Emerita, Department of English, University of Zurich; Global Distinguished Professor at New York University

Link to the website of the organizer Museum Tinguely

Der Beitrag À BRUIT SECRET + EYEWITNESSES erschien zuerst auf Farbpsychologie.

Kapwani Kiwanga The Marias, installation view (photo Axel Buether, exhibition “Flowers Forever” Kunsthalle Munich)

Sun yellow – activating, radiant and energetic

The radiant yellow sunlight is a unique natural phenomenon that brightens and warms the earth every day and supplies it with the energy that keeps us alive. “Sun, light and warmth” are the first thoughts that come to mind when we see a light yellow shade. If you give small children a yellow crayon, most of them will scribble a yellow sun symbol on the paper.

The sun’s radiant energy acts through our eyes and skin on the circadian system, which controls not only the sleep-wake rhythm, but also basic bodily functions such as body temperature, metabolism and hormone balance. Each sun yellow thus becomes a color symbol of an invisible power that fills us with optimism and energy day after day.

Yellow conveys the impression of health, dynamism and an active zest for life. We choose yellow when we are doing well. This effect was also confirmed by a study on the connection between color and emotion. The research team used a color wheel from which test subjects had to choose a color that matched their mood. People with depressive moods, on the other hand, very often chose a dull gray, which forms the emotional counterpart to the cheerful yellow.

The ambivalence of yellow

In 1917, a color therapy attracted worldwide attention, which went down in medical history as “Kemp-Prossor’s Colour Cure” after its inventor. Soldiers tormented by psychosomatic disorders were supposed to find recovery in bright yellow patient rooms with sky-blue blankets. However, it was not just the walls and floors that were painted a uniform yellow, but also the entire interior, right down to the bed linen. The aim was to create a maximum contrast to the atmosphere of the European battlefields and to fill the entire room with “spring”. Hospitals in Denmark and Great Britain adopted this color therapy method, but it did not catch on and was soon forgotten.

The failure of this color therapy method can be traced back to a widespread misconception. A bright, pure daffodil yellow on the tiny surface of a flower against a background of green plants does indeed look spring-like, cheerful and optimistic. However, if you fill an entire room with it, it becomes a loud warning tone. A room like this feels claustrophobic and has nothing in common with the cheerful atmosphere of a spring landscape.

Kapani Kiwanga The Marias

“Kapani Kiwanga studied anthropology and comparative religion before turning to art. The outstanding feature of her work is the artistic and aesthetic translation of the well-founded theoretical basis and research, whereby her installations, paintings, works on paper, photographs and video works are characterized by formal clarity and reduction. Kiwanga knows how to seduce the viewer aesthetically and effectively. In fact, however, her sensitive choice of materials and colors is always based on deeper levels of meaning, which charge her works with historical and socio-political significance and break up the visual pleasure in terms of content. For example, her delicate plants are toxic.” (Text excerpt from the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg)

Exhibition Kapwani Kiwanga . The length of the horizon. Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg September 16, 2023 to January 7, 2024

Lecture “Psychology of Colors” as part of the Volkswagen Art4All. September 27 at 18 h Kunstmusum Wolfsburg

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Der Beitrag “The psychology of colors” erschien zuerst auf Farbpsychologie.

As part of the training event, the lecture will provide information on the effects of light and surface colors in rooms on the health and well-being of employees at their workplace.

Dates

• Museum Wiesbaden, Tuesday, 22.11.2022 10 a.m.
• Mainz State Museum, 01.12.2022 10 a.m.
• Atrium Saarbrücken, Tuesday, 13.12.2022 Seminar 10 a.m.

Registration with the organizer IKK Südwest

Der Beitrag Color, art and health in the workplace erschien zuerst auf Farbpsychologie.

The 2nd Nuremberg Forum for Art Therapy and Science offers art therapists from both practice and academia, art therapy students, and colleagues from other health professions
the opportunity to exchange ideas on art therapy research, gain insights into current research projects, and network across disciplines.

My lecture on “Color, light and health” will take place on Saturday, 24.09.2022 from 15:30.

Link to the website of the organizer – Klinikum Nürnberg

Der Beitrag Color, light and health erschien zuerst auf Farbpsychologie.