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Brushstrokes of Freedom: From Life Under Socialism to the Global Art Stage

Cornelia Thomsen
German-born artist whose abstract works reflect her East German upbringing. Trained at the Meissen Porcelain Company and the University of Art and Design in Offenbach, now based in New York exploring memory, resilience, and identity through color and form.

Tuesday, November 18th, 2025
6:30- 8:00pm

Cosmopolitan Club
122 East 66th Street
New York City
Also available on Zoom

About the Topic
What does freedom mean to an artist who grew up without it? Join us for the remarkable story of Cornelia Thomsen, who spent her early years in East Germany under socialist rule and began her career as a porcelain painter for the historic Meissen Manufactory. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Thomsen’s journey carried her from constraint to creativity—culminating in an acclaimed career with works exhibited at The Met, LACMA, and museums worldwide.

About the Speaker
Cornelia Thomsen is a German-born artist whose abstract paintings in watercolor and oil are deeply influenced by her upbringing in former East Germany, where life under a surveillance state shaped her sense of introspection and restraint. Trained at the renowned Meissen Porcelain Company and later at the University of Art and Design in Offenbach, she developed a mastery of precision and technique that informs her contemporary practice. Now based in New York, her work explores themes of memory, resilience, and emotional endurance through subtle variations of color, rhythm, and form, transforming personal history into visual meditations on freedom, structure, and the human spirit’s persistence amid constraint.


Event Prices
Patron Member: No Fee
Young Patron Member: No Fee
Regular Member: $45
Non-Resident Member: N/A (No Zoom)
Guest of a Member: $45
Non-member: $45