Inge Claussen

Born in 1939, Inge Claussen is an established contemporary artist whose career reflects the postwar era’s shifting artistic landscape. Emerging at a time when Abstract Expressionism defined much of the global dialogue, Claussen developed her own voice, informed by the movement’s concern with gesture, form, and the sublime. Her paintings balance structure with emotion, offering a personal interpretation of modernism while asserting the presence of a female perspective in a largely male-dominated generation.Born in Germany in 1939, Inge Claussen relocated to Canada at a young age and established herself as a contemporary painter of distinction. Her career emerged during a transformative period in postwar art, when Abstract Expressionism and modernist experimentation shaped global discourse. While the influence of this movement is evident in her attention to gesture, colour, and the expressive potential of paint, Claussen’s work departs from pure abstraction to capture a distinctly personal vision.

She is best known for her depictions of Ottawa’s historic sites and the region’s vibrant outdoor life, subjects rendered with both immediacy and refinement. Her paintings often balance the architectural with the atmospheric, revealing her sensitivity to light, rhythm, and the interplay between human presence and environment. At a time when the international art scene was dominated by male voices, Claussen asserted her own perspective, contributing to the broader recognition of women artists within modernism. Her work remains celebrated for its ability to convey both the vitality of place and the enduring power of painterly expression.