The history of
WIEDEMANN COLLECTION
Discover art in a new way
Since 2015, Kollektion Wiedemann has been all about art, not fashion. In our range you will find an exclusive, finely curated selection of modern murals. Each work in our range represents the unique vision and exceptional talent of our artists.
Our artists
Our collection currently includes works by over 80 national and international artists and is growing steadily. The artistic spectrum ranges from photography and painting to graphic and digital art, light painting and graphic art. We provide you with detailed information about the artist for each work so that you receive not just a picture, but a story.
Customized quality
We produce every wall mural made to measure and to order. Our 'just in time' production ensures that there is no excess production and unnecessary waste. We work exclusively with leading production partners to guarantee you the best quality and outstanding prints.
Our commitment to service
We attach great importance to direct and personal customer service. Contact us if you have any questions about motifs, advice on our surfaces or if something does not meet your expectations. You can reach us by phone during our business hours or you are welcome to visit us for a coffee at our idyllic location in Giesen.
How it all began
In the mid-1980s, the industrial age was slowly turning into the information age. At this time, Rolf Wiedemann enrolled at the HAWK Hildesheim (University of Applied Sciences and Arts) to study communication sciences.
Rolf Wiedemann founds the company FARBKONZEPTE in his second semester. The company specializes early on in large-scale murals.
He paints. He spatulas. He combines different painting techniques for his wall designs. His commissions take him all over Germany. Rolf rents a studio in Hasede near Hildesheim. He spreads out huge canvases on the floor between buckets of paint and other painting utensils. Barefoot, Rolf stomps around on the canvases and paints them. Tired but satisfied, Rolf sometimes looks down at his paint-splattered feet. Yes, the work is fun. Yes, the company is running.
BRUSHES AND PIXELS
It is the year 2000 and the new millennium is characterized by an ever-growing digital offering on the Internet. It is also the year of the Expo 2000 world exhibition in Hanover. Rolf Wiedemann and his company FARBKONZEPTE have a particularly noteworthy commission. He is designing an exhibition stand for the Federal Ministry for the Environment at Expo 2000.
The trade fair spreads a spirit of optimism and gives an enthusiastic view of the future. Rolf likes this feeling and decides to visit the next upcoming trade fair: CeBIT 2000. In the CeBIT exhibition halls, a device on display arouses his interest: a digital inkjet web printer. This printer whirrs across a roll of screen with the same motion every time. And with each new row, the device gradually draws a picture. Rolf is immediately impressed by its simplicity. As you enter it on the computer, the image is reproduced 1 to 1 on the substrate.
He thinks back to his studies and older printing techniques such as screen printing. It is a multi-stage printing process that involves a lot of effort: exposing screens, pressing ink through a mesh onto the substrate and washing the screens out again. He immediately asks himself whether he can integrate digital printing into his work. Until now, the process for large-scale paintings, whether on masonry or canvas, has been very laborious and time-consuming. So why not try to produce the motifs in large format using a roll printer?
This is the innovative step that Rolf has always been looking for. The first test is successful. Designing the motif on small formats or on the computer, scanning the result and then reproducing it in large format using digital printing. Whereas it used to take him two to three days to print a canvas by hand, he can now do the same job in an hour with digital printing. Less effort with high print quality.
For Rolf, the interest lies in optimizing his work processes and the flexibility to combine different design and printing methods. The new working method is used for the first time for a large wall design in the Cinemaxx cinema at Potsdamer Platz.
In his studio, Rolf embellishes the digitally printed canvases again by hand using mixed media. He then laminates the canvases to the walls of the cinema on site.
ANGELS FROM THE ROLL
In 2003, an old acquaintance from Hildesheim asks Rolf for support. He needed advertising material for a large stand at the Ambiente trade fair in Frankfurt to promote a series of ceramics with the theme "Angels".
He asked Rolf if he would make him a few banners with his roll printer. No sooner said than done. Rolf designs advertising banners with matching angel motifs for the trade fair, which hang on the stand as background decoration. It's not just the ceramics that attract attention at the trade fair. Representatives from furniture stores are also interested in the advertising banners designed by Rolf. Full of curiosity, the purchasing manager of a high-priced Swiss furniture store chain asks about them. "I made them at home with my roll printer. Nothing wild," replies Rolf. The purchasing manager is delighted and replies: "If you stretch it on a stretcher frame, you can sell it as a mural. Why don't you send us a few copies? I'll see how they go in our furniture store."
Back in his studio, Rolf produces forty canvas motifs on stretcher frames. Stowed away in a pallet, he sends the stretcher frame murals to Switzerland. A few days later, the purchasing manager calls and tells him: "Mr. Wiedemann, the entire pallet has been sold out. I need twenty times as many murals for the next order. Please send supplies as soon as possible." This situation was a real eye-opener for Rolf: "Wow, the wall pictures on stretcher frames are actually selling." From then on, the roll printer runs around the clock. New motifs have to be designed. When Rolf's friend plans another trade fair appearance, he asks: "Wouldn't you like to come to the fair with your stretcher frame pictures? Why don't you set up a small stand right next to me? Why don't you see what happens?" No sooner said than done. The rush of furniture store representatives at the stand is not long in coming and the order books fill up quickly.
The sense of achievement also brings new challenges: "How am I supposed to process all these orders? How do I manage sales? Where do I get the packaging? What prices should I set? How does it work with the shipping company? I need a forklift truck for the pallets. I need employees. One printer alone won't be able to handle the required quantities. I need more roll printers." Rolf Wiedemann started out with zero experience.
Expansion
In 2010, Rolf Wiedemann is presented with a unique opportunity. The former halls and business premises on the nearby K + S AG site are available for rent. The production, storage and office space available here offers sufficient room for the growing company KOLLEKTION-WIEDEMANN.
The new premises enable Rolf to acquire modern printing machines. With the large digital printing machines, it is also possible to print on other substrates such as glass, wood or aluminum plates. New large murals on acrylic glass and aluminum dibond with a size of up to 300 cm x 200 cm are possible.
In 2015, Rolf established his first artist collaboration with the lost places photographer Markus Gebauer. His motif "Love At First Sight", the photograph of a corridor corner in the former Beelitz lung sanatorium, becomes a bestseller. Collaborations with other artists followed in subsequent years.
Back to the roots
On December 31, 2023, Kollektion-Wiedemann is making a significant change: The company parted ways with its retail partners and the 57 stationary galleries. A new chapter begins on February 1, 2024, when Rolf Wiedemann returns to the original offices with a reduced team - where it all began in 2006.
The company's focus now shifts entirely to online sales of wall murals and the project business. From September 2024, Kollektion-Wiedemann will also be offering its collection in other European countries.