Prof. Martina Jess

Academic Profile 

Prof. Martina Jess works at the intersection of fine art, design and visual research. Her artistic practice is characterised by an exploration of game systems, perceptual processes and social orders. In doing so, she develops works that combine painting, space, film, sound and installation, and actively incorporate the role of the audience into the artistic statement. 

In her teaching, she views design as an experimental process of discovery. She encourages the development of independent artistic positions, conceptual thinking and the ability to translate complex themes into precise visual and spatial forms. As Dean of the Faculty of Design, she is committed to an interdisciplinary design education that combines artistic research, design practice and social relevance. 

Academic and professional background 

Prof. Martina Jess has been Professor of Artistic Design at Dresden University of Applied Sciences since 2012 and Dean of the Faculty of Design since 2015. She studied Fine Arts from 1982 to 1989 at the art academies in ’s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands), Karlsruhe and Düsseldorf. During this time, she also earned the title of ‘Meisterschülerin’ (master student) under Prof. Markus Lüpertz. In the years following her studies, she developed an artistic and design perspective that continues to shape her work in teaching and practice to this day.

Even before joining the FHD, she had gained extensive teaching experience at renowned art and design colleges. From 2000 to 2004, she held a professorship in the Department of Design Theory at Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, and from 2009 to 2012 she taught interdisciplinary and experimental painting at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. 

Key research areas and interests 

In her artistic research, Prof. Jess examines game systems as models of cultural and social processes. Her starting point is a exploration of rules, hierarchies, chance, control and the mechanisms of perception and interaction. Her projects combine visual research with installation-based and media-based experimental set-ups, in which visitors often become part of the system themselves. 

• Artistic research into play as a social and cultural organising principle  
• Long-standing investigation of rules of play, chance, strategy and power structures  
• Development of site-specific installations and interactive perceptual situations  
• Exploration of rituals and everyday behavioural patterns  
• Works on the role of the spectator, participation and performative perception  
• Artistic analysis of gambling, addiction, control and manipulation  
• Transformation of scientific sign and symbol systems into artistic metaphors (Module as Mode)  
• Research into childhood, play behaviour and cultural learning processes (Systematics, My Bad Girls)  
• Development of cross-media concepts spanning painting, video, sound installation and space  
• Investigation of memory, temporality and transience in site-specific installations (Hohes Wasser 1959)  
• Development of the concept of ‘Moving Paintings’ as a fusion of painting, film and architecture 

Teaching 

In her teaching, Prof. Martina Jess approaches artistic creation as a research-based process. Students are encouraged to explore social, cultural and personal phenomena through experimental and cross-media working methods. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of independent visual languages, an understanding of space and staging, and the critical reflection on systems of signs, roles and rules. Her teaching combines artistic practice with conceptual research and fosters the ability to articulate complex interrelationships visually and through installations. 

Publications 

Numerous exhibition catalogues and artist publications, including ‘Offenes Spiel/Open Spel’, ‘Lucky/Unlucky’, ‘Bad Girls and Rubber’, ‘Letzter Aufguss’, ‘Tuchfühlung’, ‘Kunst auf Rezept’, ‘Zeichen setzen im Bild’ and ‘to be shaken before taken’

Projects (selection) 

2026: International project lead for ‘Manipulation’ with students from six countries, as well as a collaboration with NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences (NL) 

2020: Development of the transdisciplinary “LehrWerkstatt N – Sustainable Teaching at the FHD” 

2017: Exhibition and performance at Design Huis Eindhoven as part of Dutch Design Week 

Since 2016: Collaboration on ‘Drawing Dance’ with the Palucca University of Dance Dresden 

Since 2016: Exhibition on the campus of Dresden University of Applied Sciences with students as part of Dresden’s Long Night of Science 

Since 2014: Annual international design excursions to Dutch Design Week, involving collaborations with universities and studios in the Netherlands 

Exhibitions 

International exhibition activity with projects in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Austria since 1988

Exhibitions including at the Museum van Bommel van Dam (Venlo), Noordbrabant Museum (’s-Hertogenbosch), European Culture Month in Linz, Hellerau – European Centre for the Arts, German Hygiene Museum in Dresden and in numerous galleries at home and abroad

Extensive series of works and installation projects on the themes of play, rituals, perception, power structures and social interaction

Expert activities (selection) 

Expert at the ‘Wir gestalten Dresden’ and ‘Kreatives Sachsen’ forums on issues relating to the cultural, design and creative industries. 

2026: ‘Übermorgen’ think tank, Dresden Museum of Decorative Arts 

2022: Jury member for Coding da Vinci Ost³, SLUB Dresden 

2020: Workshops on assessment criteria in artistic and design disciplines 

2019: Jury chair and specialist lecture on ‘Sorbian street style’, Sorbian Museum, Bautzen 

Other roles 

Member of the NBKS Breda and of networks for higher education and cultural development

Full CV of Prof. Martina Jess