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Dima Dobrovolskij

Born in Latvia in 1983 | living in Berlin since 1997

| Über mich

Vita

Dima Dobrovolskij is an artist based in Berlin whose work emerges from ruptures, shifts in perspective, and a drive for freedom in expression. Shaped by migration, multiple languages, and different cultural realities, he developed an early sensitivity to ambiguity, friction, and what remains unspoken between people. From a life lived between languages, ruptures, and fragmented forms of belonging, collage became not only a medium but also a method: an attempt to reread what is broken apart and to reassemble it differently. Here, collage is not merely a technique, but a way of thinking — a practice of working with fragments from which new realities can emerge.

Before visual art came to the forefront, language was his first artistic medium. Rap, poetry, and collective musical work formed an important space of expression over many years. In total, seven albums with more than 200 songs were created. Rhythm, directness, and poetic compression continue to shape his visual practice to this day. His hip-hop years also found their way into literature: a chapter in Merle Hilbk’s Chaussee der Enthusiasten is dedicated to this period of his life. Equally formative was Berlin’s hip-hop and event culture, within which he organized festivals and cultural formats over many years.

This practice was further expanded through his involvement in several media productions and socially engaged projects, including collaborations with Salome von Berlin. The resulting formats reached a wide audience and sharpened his understanding of visual communication, cultural mediation, and the impact of images in public space.

Dima Dobrovolskij consciously moves between contradictions: analysis and intuition, tenderness and hardness, political alertness and poetic openness. His works do not seek the smooth or merely decorative, but rather tension, conviction, and inner truthfulness. For a long time, Berlin has been an important space of friction for this. Yet movement remains part of his path. What emerges is a practice that seeks to provoke, connect, analyze, and transform — without settling into fixed definitions.

Currently in Progress

Several bodies of work and conceptual projects are currently in development at the intersection of collage, research, and social observation. At the center are questions of perception, responsibility, violence, patriarchal structures, and the relationship between inner and outer reality.

Departure 2028 — 12 Countries, 12 Residencies

For 2028, I am preparing a one-year artistic journey around the world that will take me through different countries, contexts, and residency programs. The journey is conceived as an ongoing movement of research and artistic work: an encounter with new perspectives, materials, techniques, and social realities. At its core are artistic production, exchange with local scenes, and the question of how perception shifts through changes of place, friction, and direct experience. The planned stops are intended not only to enable new works, but also to create lasting connections, documentation, and impulses for future bodies of work.

365-Day Calendar

An ongoing calendar project with daily visual and textual impulses that invites reflection on one’s own life situation and the tensions of the present.

Aggressor

A body of work on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine — about violence, destruction, images of power, and political responsibility.

Deconstruct Patriarchy

An interdisciplinary project dedicated to deconstructing patriarchal structures through visual, digital, and auditory works. A growing platform for new narratives, shifts in perspective, and intergenerational exchange is planned.

| Über mich

Exhibitions

  • group: 05.06 – 26.07.25 / Fresh Legs Berlin
  • group: 14.03 – 02.04.25 / 48. Kunstpreis der Kulturstiftung der Sparkasse
    Karlsruhe
  • duo: 24.11-26.11.23 / Weihnachsmythologie und Kommerz with Sebastian Herrling
    Bass CS Gallery / Berlin
  • duo: 08.07.2023 Beziehungsweise
    Kunst im Park Mauerpark/ Berlin
  • group: 16.02 – 11.03.23 CUT + PASTE
    LiTE-HAUS Galerie / Berlin
  • solo: 13.01.23 Deckensprung
    Bass CS Gallery / Berlin
  • group: 26.04-23.05. 22 Der Herr ist mein Hirte – Psalm 23 – Berlin / Zwitschermaschine
  • solo: 30.04–8.05.22 / Perspektiven runden Winkel
    Atelierhof Kreuzberg / Berlin
  • workshop: 13.04.22 / Workshop – Abstrakte Collage
    LAB.57 / Artspring / Berlin
  • solo: 11.04–17.04.22 / Pop up store
    LAB.57 / Artspring / Berlin
  • solo: 13.12-10.01.21 / ddetox
    BAS CS Gallery / Berlin
  • group: 28.04-7.05.21 / Magic Mystery Tour
    Vinogradov Gallery / Berlin
  • duo: 15.04-26.04.21 / Perfektionismus Maximus with Lisa d.Robin
    Vinogradov Gallery / Berlin
  • solo: 06.07-18.07.20 / pop up store
    BIO COMPANY GmbH
  • solo: 31.01-02.07.20 / woman
    Petersburg Art Space / Berlin
  • Online: 17.04-20.04.20 Art Gallery
    Ostanders / Nürnberg
  • group: 8.08.20 / Battle of the formats, circles against squares
    BAS Gallery / Berlin
  • workshop: 13.04.20/ Workshop
    Abstract Collage / Berlin
  • workshop: 21.10.20/ Workshop
    Abstract Collage / Berlin