'Art & Improvisation' Live at Meneer de Wit, Amsterdam

I present slow slide shows of my artwork on a large screen, accompanied by live piano — mostly improvisations, sometimes my own compositions when they enhance the atmosphere.

The intention is to give spectators a space to sit back and relax in these hectic times.Today, films, videos, and commercials are edited at an increasingly fast and restless pace. Even online slide shows of great artists often move too quickly. And if you pause them to take in a specific artwork, the music stops as well.

My aim is to bring people into a calmer state of mind. Drawing gives me peace and has had a powerful therapeutic effect on me, and I want to share that sense of tranquility with my audience. During my improvisations, I respond to the atmosphere of the room and the energy of the people present, creating an experience in which art and music merge. One person may focus more on the images, another may listen to the music, while someone else simply drifts into their own thoughts.The slideshows unfold at a gentle pace, giving the audience plenty of time to absorb each image. The music and improvisations reinforce this feeling, placing the experience somewhere between a gallery visit and a concert.

Reviews:1.

"In Art & Improvisation, Christian Doepke combines two talents: music and visual arts. Beautiful compositions and improvisations accompany illustrations, figurative and abstract. It seems as if the music is cinematic and the images musical, the interaction stimulates the senses, Art & Improvisation is actually a kind of total theatre.The whole is more than the sum of its parts: the combination of music and images is a form of immersive art and has an almost therapeutic effect."
- Phillip Walkate2

. "Last night we experienced a wonderful and unforgettable performance 'Art & Improvisation' by composer, pianist, teacher, visual artist and friend, Christian Doepke. In our favorite theater Mascini, it's not often that a musician also treats the audience to sparkling and beautiful art that makes your imagination run wild. The art whirled into the Mascini room through a slide presentation. Christian's touches of the piano keys and his art touched our hearts and we came out of the room on wings.His compositions connect lyrical impressionistic sounds with jazz elements and create a homogeneous and unique style that fuses European and American jazz culture. Christian's goal to make the audience forget everything for a while and let the music and art penetrate deeply into people, has been quite successful last night. A grandiose performance where ears and eyes thoroughly enjoyed!"
- Sylvia Dreese