Born in Austria Omani Frei studied for two years at the Academy of Fine Arts Catanzaro in Italy. During this time she concentrated on video art and traditional oil painting. She continued her studies in Germany at the Dresden University of Fine Arts, where she graduated in 2020 as a master student with Carsten Nicolai in the class for time-based media.
Her final project „Kompass“, an animated short film, was shown at numerous festivals and received international recognition. In 2023 she spent several months in Japan and had an art residency at Kiyoshima Apartment Beppu on Kyushu. During this time she refined her style and created a link between her animated films and her painting. The clear and vivid line that encloses the calm and monochrome colour surface has since defined and shaped her work, both digital and analogue.
Artist statement
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The silent dance
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Once a dragon roamed the pine forests of the nearby desert. Its scales shimmered transparently and were as soft as fresh snow. There he met a jumping mouse with black fur and dark blue eyes as deep as the ocean. It was drawing on the marble floor with the purple juice of a Biwa fruit.
„What are you doing?“ the dragon asked.
„I don’t know yet“, replied the mouse, after thinking about it for a long time.
„What about you? What are you doing?“
„I’m looking for something.“
„And what are you looking for?“
„I don’t know yet“, replied the dragon after a long pause.
So they both joined forces. Drawing what they knew nothing about, searched for what they did not know and now and then they listened together to the silent dance of the moon.
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Exhibitions (selection)
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2023 Pop-up Exhibition | Kurukuru and Hood Gin and Lemon | Beppu (JP)
2023 IN_ORDNUNG | Motorenhalle Riesa Efau | Dresden (DE)
2022 Searth | Casa della musica | Grado (IT)
2021 Direkte Auktion | EIGEN+ART Lab, Monopol | Berlin (DE)
2021 entFALTUNG | Galerie Carolyn Heinz | Hamburg (DE)
2020–21 JapanRevisited202x | Österreichisches Kulturforum Tokio | online
2020 Meister20 | Motorenhalle | Dresden (DE)
2019 Die Wand #7 | EIGEN+ART Lab und Rheingau Founders | Berlin (DE)
2019 Zweiklassen | Tapentenwerk | Leipzig (DE)
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Screenings (selection)
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2023 PIAFF Paris International Animation Film Festival | Paris (FR)
2022 Lines Fiction | Berlin (DE)
2022 PIAFF Paris International Animation Film Festival | Paris (FR)
2021 CINANIMA | Espinho (PT)
2021 Best Austrian Animation Festival | Vienna (AT)
2021 Austrian Filmfestival | Vienna (AT)
2021 Flipbook Film Festival | Skopje (MK)
2021 Zeitimpuls shortfilm festival | Vienna (AT)
2021 Kurzfilmwanderung | Leipzig (DE)
2021 Festival del cinema di Cefalù | Cefalù (IT)
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Membership
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since 2020 AG Animationsfilm
since 2020 Neustadt Art Kollektiv (Founding member)
since 2020 SALOON Dresden