Ingo Leth

My name is Ingo Leth, born in 1968 in the city Duisburg, Germany. I attended a school for Graphic design and colour techniques in 1987 in Duisburg.

After moving to the Dutch city Emmen in the Netherlands, my career as an professional artist began in 1992 with exhibitions in Art Gallery’s in the Netherlands and abroad. Until the year 1999 I worked in an artist group as one of the 3 founders of the TOYism art style.

Since the year 2000 I have worked in different styles of painting in different techniques. My work has developed into a combination of abstract with figurative Art.

I get a lot of inspiration from Dutch and Japanese cultures. The Japanese culture and a trip to Japan in 2008 is a guarantee for inspiration for my paintings. Every painting gets a story with symbolic meanings to converse with the people.

Influences in the style are often Western, thoughts and symbolism often come from Japanese culture.

Sources of inspiration as Haiku Writer Basho, the Japanese archery Kyudo, Maiko and Geisha (Geiko), Kanji signs, the folding (painting) of 1000 cranes as well as colour symbolism for luck provide alternate enlightening work, with which I try to bind to the viewer both cultures. Even Arita porcelain and Delft blue paintings are an important part.

I try to show people how much influence cultures have on each other, and especially how much we can learn from each other's cultures.
The last few years I had a lot of exhibitions in the Netherlands and abroad, like in New York, Barcelona, Kentucky and in Montreal.

In april 2015 I've opened the doors of my Gallery 'Bij Leth' in the Dutch city Emmen. I organise exhibitions with many different artist of the Netherlands and abroad in my Gallery to make the different in the Art scene in Emmen.