Burghild Eichheim

Burghild Eichheim pursued basic studies in visual arts at the State Academy of Fine Arts, Stuttgart from 1955 to 1958 and then studied free graphics and painting at the University of the Arts, Berlin until 1963, becoming an MA student under Prof. Max Kaus. From 1967 to 1972, she lived in Spain and participated in constructing the experimental society La Selleta. She joined The Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance in 1976 and GEDOK Berlin (the oldest and largest European network for female artists) in 1986. She received a scholarship from the Senate Department for Labor and Women in 1989. In 1991, she received funding for the Group Project Interfaces. She supported Decentralised Cultural Work Kreuzberg in 1996, joined the Association of Berlin Artists in 2003, the European Women's Academy of Arts and Sciences Berlin in 2007, and the Art Special Association in Germany in 2014.
Burghild Eichheim’s mother was a ceramicist, and Eichheim recalls modelling crib figurines as a child. Today, she continues to create animal figurines, but they are also functional as whistles and are imbued with echoes from mythology and fairytale culture. She began unselfconsciously as a vernacular artist but gradually developed an active artistic practice. The animals in her work are metaphysical creatures that embody pure properties, making the term ‘animal’ seem almost inadequate. Eichheim believes in a profound connection between humans and animals, which is why they are a recurring theme in her art.