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Martin Hanke
Background
Since 1974 wickerwork is part of our family. In the beginning it was my uncle Helmut Wilke, who studied the art of chair weaving in France and founded a small company in Bad Homburg. His field of work consisted of traditional wickerwork. In 1987 my mother Monika Hanke was apprenticed there. Two years later she founded her own company in a suburb of Hannover, where -in addition to chair weaving and restoration of antique furniture - she offered courses and workshops.
About me
In 1995 I took over my parent's company, where I was already employed before. My main focus was the restoration and reconstruction of antique furniture. At the same time my mother continued weaving and extended the spectrum of her own techniques. In the following years the field of weaving grew more and more and I decided to work in this area as well. How ever, I discovered that the common wickerwork techniques did not match my expectations anymore. I started developing new patterns and expanded the coloration techniques, which included more freely designed compositions. I started to understand wickerwork as a form of art, which is not subject to an actual fashion, but which can be part of everyone's personal dream. Up to now I am still fascinated of the inexhaustible possibilities and exciting development processes.
Wickerwork "eigenART"
Wickerwork uses material from the inner shell of the Rotang(rattan palm). It was established in the mid 17th century in Europe and is still practiced until now. The pattern selection and presentation have hardly changed since the 1930s. Since ten years I am further developing patterns and forms and creating my own style in the whole wickerwork area. Particularly in the art of coloration, I worked on new methods for commercially available cane reed tracks. This coloration technique I developed,offers interesting new viewing approaches, which can almost be regarded as optical illusions. In this way objects are generated with exciting color harmony and constellations, which can be regarded as unique in Germany. My wickerwork is exclusively made by hand. Each piece is unique. The focus of my work is the creative design, which is required for individual possibilities and the freedom in collaboration with other artists.
Ideas and examples for possible areas of use: Folding screens, wall and ceiling covering, doors, room dividers, tables, heatercoverages. Main activity: manufacturing of wickerwork, individual frame production, weaving classes by request, model weaving by request. As a designer with several years of experience, I would be pleased to help with the realization of your ideas in terms of wickerwork.