BOE 2005 Merlot

Bert Hewener-Esenherz was born in 1961 in Berlin. As a young man Esenherz was inspired by the work of Harold Naegeli and started spraying some graffiti of his own. In search of his artistic identity he participated in the punk movement and techno culture in Berlin. In the late eighties Esenherz decided art was going to be his life and in 1992 he graduated from Muenster Academy of Fine Arts, specializing in visual arts and media design.

In 1990 Esenherz founded “The Friends of Art”, a multi-national group from Germany, UK, France, the USA and Switzerland that coordinated and supported the development of collaborative multi-media art projects. From that period on, Performance Art was to become a driving force in his work. “Art is the process by which the artist expresses a momentary thought or feeling in a unique manner”. (Esenherz 1993). In 1994 he created “Wall Hall”, an annual performance, which explores and documents the process of producing, displaying, celebrating and finally destroying art over a period of two months. In 2001 Esenherz walked across America pushing a 7 by 5 feet painting on wheels to promote art in local communities across the country.

In the late nineties with film technology becoming more accessible Esenherz acted upon his long time interest in filmmaking. He has independently fimled a series of satirical silent short movies about the idiosyncrasies of city life. In 2006 he shot his first music video and he is currently working on a documentary about post 9/11 New York City.

In 2005 Esenherz co-founded with his friend and partner Eric Morse, East Coast Aliens, a small enterprise located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, that combines professional artistic services and a center for art, culture and debates. Esenherz had dedicated his artistic career to the documentation of urban life and its diversity.

View and learn more about Bert’s work at: www.esenherz.com