"This is my story."
miho was born in Meiningen in 1971 - a city famous for its theater and its historic connection to arts and artists, right in the heart of Germany.
As a kid he quickly was fascinated by reading and copying comics, finding his first joy in the contrasts, colors and abstractions of the comic style that would later define his artworks.
A fascination, that soon would first vanish in favor of his education, his career and other adventures, before miho would rediscover the joys of colors, contrasts and the creation of art.
After trying himself in various industries, he soon realized that whichever job he took on, none fulfilled him as much as creating something out of his own hands.
Out of his own passion.
Seeing the years slowly passing by, working jobs at home and abroad, he came to a simple, but impactful conclusion:
He had to change something.
He had to return to creating.
With the opening of his workshop in his hometown Meiningen back in 1995 miho started what soon would become the foundation of his career as an artist.
Restoring frames from past centuries and painting often very detailed portraits, city sceneries and natural motives, miho grew as an artist with every new project he took on.
From sculptures to paintings, from experiments with the sound of colors to the demand of details for contracted portraits, miho tried himself to find the joy of arts again, the passion in creation he so much desired to relive, over and over again.
miho's escape into the world of arts brought him to life, giving him the opportunity to share his ideas, his passions and emotions with like-minded people around the world.
And his ideas were proven successful. His art soon found admirers throughout the entire country following his first national successes in 2006.
His identity as an artist began developing.
"This is miho."
In 2015, twenty years after founding his workshop in Meiningen, something changed for miho. He grew out of the artist he used to be and something new, something fresh and full of passion started to fill his mind.
He began searching for a way to break out of his daily life in the workshop. A way, to create something unique as an artist, something that differed from his detailed paintings, his precision, but also something that remained close to himself, his passions and his life.
miho wanted to create something passionate, an emotional art piece, that wouldn't require an interpretation, but just spark joy.
So here he was, with his cup of coffee, a record from U2's '05 concert in Milan on loud and the goal to surprise the wife of a client with a very special homage to one of her idols - Audrey Hephurn.
His homage to the Hollywood's legend was the first painting, that combined his passion for powerful colors, contrasts and emotions with a memorial to the life-time achievement of the actress and Hollywood's Golden Age.
And the first artwork he signed with the now famous pseudonym.
miho was born.
His style quickly gained in popularity among his workshops clients, with many of them finding the memories and icons of their youth amid miho's homages, confirming miho's intention to create something very special, something emotional, that he could share with others.
With new homages to David Bowie, Steve McQueen and James Dean soon following Audrey, the stories of miho's art expanded, joining like-minded people up until today.
"These are my stories."
U2 and coffee.
Two things, that miho definetly would describe as a necessity, when it comes to creating a new homage. Our colleague Max from Galerie niza interviewed the artist to find out more about miho's motivations and what creating a new, unique homage means to him.
Galerie niza:
"You often told us that your paintings would not be the same without your cup of coffee and the record of U2's concert in Milan from way back in 2005. Of all the other ways for finding inspiration, why is this yours?
miho:
"Well, I guess we gotta go back to the beginnings of my life as miho, back to when I created my first homage - one for the Hollywood icon Audrey Hepburn. When I began painting it, I had some sort of an idea of what I wanted to do, but it just felt like I was still missing something.
As my cup of coffee alone didn't help me very much, I decided to browse through some old CDs, just trying to find something nice, something that would help my passion escape from my locked mind.
And then I suddenly came across this CD from U2, one of my favorite bands, but surprisingly it was a record I haven't heard yet - or well, at least not for a very long time.
It was a no brainer. The music, the band, the audience. It had to be full of emotions and passions from so many people."
Galerie niza:
"And that is just what you needed, right? The combination of your favorite band, an incredible performance and the emotions it all created."
miho:
"I guess so, yes. I haven't been to this exact same concert, but I had already enjoyed some other concerts from the band and it just excited me. It sparked joy as well as my passion for painting.
Since then I just continued to play the exact same album, over and over again, every time I painted a new homage. And the excitement stayed. I still feel as full of joy and passion as when I painted my first portrait of Audrey.
But well, probably my artworks wouldn't be the same without a cup of strong coffee in addition to the record from U2's concert."
Galerie niza:
"In how far do your motives influence your work? Hollywood icons and Rock'n'Roll legends must be very inspiring for your art as well, right?"
miho:
"Of course, but often their achievements are secondary for my portraits. The stories and emotions told by their faces are the more important parts of my homages.
Therefore the choice of my next motive depends less on a particular icon, but rather the motives expression.
It just has to be f'n awesome."