How did you come to art?
Actually, I have always painted, even as a child. When I was 16, I knew that art would play an important role in my life.

How did you found the gallery?
HEITSCH GALLERY was founded in 1994 at the same time as KUNSTNETZWERK in Munich after a longer stay in San Francisco. In addition to the art gallery, I also ran a publishing house, an agency and an art shop, which had actually started earlier, with the “Akademieladen” directly at the Munich Art Academy. I thus had a good network even at a young age. 

What do you appreciate most about your profession as a gallery owner?
I particularly like the fact that I deal with the most diverse people – from the most diverse nationalities. The best thing about it is that I always meet people at the point where it’s all about the content, the meaning and the opportunity to bring ideas into reality.

How would you describe the concept of the Heitsch Gallery?
I am an artist from the heart. As such, I have a rather minimalist, concrete orientation, which is why the gallery program also focuses on Minimalism and Op Art. This focus polarizes with a direction of painting that I have always admired, hyperrealism with its origins in Renaissance and Baroque painting and the old masters – from Dürer to Rubens. I have never been able to paint like this, so it has always fascinated me and it represents a clear contrast to Minimalism, which I find very exciting. 
I think the concept of the HEITSCH GALLERY lies clearly in this very personal approach, i.e. the focus on art movements that I particularly appreciate: Op-Art, which leads into border areas of visionary perception, and Pop-Art, as an art of everyday life and the figurative. (P)OP-ART so to speak.

What is your goal with the Heitsch Gallery?

To connect the ideal side of art with the practical side, i.e. essentially to connect art and life with each other.
How has the work changed over the years?
The art market has changed a lot because there is a lot of money in circulation internationally. There are more and more galleries, more and more trade fairs and thus a dilution of content and quality.
What projects are you currently working on?
Basically, it is very important to me to improve the content and quality of contemporary art through my work as a gallery owner.
One concrete project at the moment is the SKULPTURALE. This is a biennial for sculptures with the aim of placing contemporary sculptures in an international context, a dialogue with the zeitgeist.
On the other hand, I am working on the NEW MASTERS concept. Here contemporary artists engage in a dialogue with art history.

Jörg Heitsch has been running his gallery for international, contemporary art in the heart of Munich between Gärtnerplatz and Viktualienmarkt since 1994, developing cultural concepts at the interface of art, communication and the market. The focus is on abstract and minimalist painting, sculpture and conceptual art, but photography and figuration are also represented. The gallery is particularly committed to current artists who convey modern content and re-explore art history.