Albrecht Behmel (; born 24 March 1971) is a German artist, novelist, historian, non-fiction writer and award-winning playwright.

Surname and family history

Son of geologist Hermann Behmel and grandson of architect Paul Behmel. The uncommon family name is a Germanicized form of the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

given name ''

Bogomil Bogomilism (; ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic, dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar Peter I in the 10th century. I ...

'' from where (Bohemia) their family emigrated to

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

in the early 18th century. On his mother's side he is a descendant of

Christoph Martin Wieland Christoph Martin Wieland (; ; 5 September 1733 – 20 January 1813) was a German poet and writer, representative of literary Rococo. He is best-remembered for having written the first ''Bildungsroman'' (''Geschichte des Agathon''), as well as the ...

, a

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

n poet and writer of the Enlightenment.

Life

After working as a bouncer and a puppeteer in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, in the early 1990s, Behmel moved to Germany to complete his studies in humanities in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, where he was a fellow student of Silvana Koch-Mehrin and Gerrit Jasper Schenk and at

Humboldt University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public university, public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III of Prussia, Frederick W ...

, Berlin, Germany. He has published on ancient history, Greek naval warfare and early German literature like the

Nibelungenlied The (, or ; or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poetry, epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germanic hero ...

. Most notably, however, are a series of self-help e-books for fellow students, making him one of the pioneers of German electronic publishing. He used the pseudonym Timothy Patterson for two titles. He is noted to suffer from insomnia. He was a business consultant between 1995 and 2005. His published work includes novels, like

Mitte 1 ''Mitte 1'' Is the second episode of a comedy series of novels by German writer Albrecht Behmel. The eponymous “Mitte” (“downtown”) is the first and most central borough of Germany’s capital Berlin. The series depicts the author as an ...

, ''Homo Sapiens Berliner Art''; radio plays, computer games, film scripts and stage plays as well as non-fiction. He has worked for a number of German and international TV stations, like

ARTE Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...

and ARD. Behmel founded a network for film and media professionals, Filmforum, in 2008. In 2013 he founded Samiel Award, an annual literary prize for antagonists of newly published German novels. The first Samiel Award went to Austrian writer Jan Kossdorff for a dark humor novel about human trafficking and advertising agencies. The award is supported by publisher Marc Hiller of Stuttgart. Winning writers receive 666 Euros, the

number of the beast The number of the beast (, ) is associated with the The Beast (Revelation), Beast of Revelation in chapter 13, verse 18 of the Book of Revelation. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of ...

''The Magic of the Swarms''

A series of paintings developed by Albrecht in 2013 and 2014. ''The Magic of the Swarms'' is about the fusion of shapes into more complex forms and about the interaction of colours. But it is also a geometrical game called Abstrahism: Intricate chaotic systems consist of simple overlapping elements. The colours help define the shape, but at the same time emphasise the intricacies of the interaction of each silhouette. The work is influenced by ecclesiastical lead lights and Buddhist mandalas. Real-life silhouettes merge into something almost but not totally abstract - a swarm of forms that is more than the sum of its elements or parts. It is a way to perceive the world using techniques of geometry and cartography to depict motion and form. Expressive colours underline the aspects of contrast and combination. Three-dimensional bodies are reduced to two dimensions.

Exhibitions

2024 * ART 4 Ukraine, Berlin (Connected Hearts) * Palais Wickenburg, Vienna * Lentfest, AGAP, Archdiocese of Glasgow * KSI, Siegburg 2023 * Kunsthalle Löffingen * Art4Ukraine, St Wendel * Art4Ukraine Düsseldorf * Art4Ukraine Frankfurt/M 2022 * Preview ML Konzept, Freudenstadt * United in Peace, Böblingen 2021 * Kreative Hug, Freudenstadt 2020 * Kunsthalle Altensteig * Städtische Kunstsammlung Jena 2019 *Baiersbronn Conversations 2018 *Chateau Savant, Cannes, France *Taste of Contemporary, Miami, USA *Gesichter einer Stadt, photo exhibition, Freudenstadt *Featured Artist at DMEXCO, Cologne 2017 *Dark Side of Marvelous, Beverly Hills, CA, USA, Solo Show *Acts of Kindness Gala, Manila Philippines, Group Show *Art Expo New York, Pier 94 2016 *Rathaus Backnang, 2016 (solo) *Convensis Group, Stuttgart, 2016 (solo) *Universitätsklinik Mannheim, 2016 (solo) *Al Madad Foundation, London, 2016 (group) *Landtag von Brandenburg, Potsdam, 2016 (group) *Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, France, 2016 2015 *Touring Exhibition, Berlin, Riga, St. Petersburg, London, 2015 *Evelina Children's Hospital, London, 2015 (group) *White Space Black Box Galerie, Neuchatel, 2015 (group) *Amrey Heyne Galerie, Stuttgart, 2015 (group)

Style and motifs

Two recurring motifs of most of his books are urban culture and the pitfalls of modern communication but also horsemanship and

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

or a mix thereof. Irish folk music, academic ceremonies and ancient mythology appear in some fiction works. Most dialogues feature a variety of German

dialects A dialect is a variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standardized varieties as well as vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardized varieties, such as those used in developing countries or iso ...

and slangs. Some novels have been compared to the work of Israeli writer Ephraim Kishon. Albrecht Behmel2013

Political views

The general standpoint professed in most of his non-fiction works can be described as

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

, anti-establishment and pro-science with a general distrust in doctrines, political ideologies of whatever color. A recurring thought is that institutions like most governments, schools, churches and universities have not kept up with current social developments for decades, and in some cases, centuries, which contradicts their claim to leading positions within society.

Awards

* Radio play, September 2003: Hörspiel des Monats for '' Ist das Ihr Fahrrad, Mr. O'Brien? Eine Hörspielcollage aus der Welt der Wissenschaft und des Suffs'', directed by: Nikolai von Koslowski. About the life, the work and death of the Irish writer

Flann O'Brien Brian O'Nolan (; 5 October 19111 April 1966), his pen name being Flann O'Brien, was an Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland, Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth- ...

Bibliography

Fiction

* '' The Threshold'', Digital Publishers, Stuttgart, 2015 * '' The Stronghold (novel)'', Urbane Publications, London, 2015 * '' Mitte 2'', 110th, Satzweiss, 2014 * ''

'', 110th, Satzweiss, 2013 * '' Doktor Faust und Mephisto'', 110th, Satzweiss, 2013 * '' Homo Sapiens Berliner Art''. Schenk, Passau 2010, * '' Das Nibelungenlied. Ein Heldenepos in 39 Abenteuern.'' Nacherzählung. Ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, * ''Auf dem Rücken der Pferde liegt das Glück dieser Erde''. Weltbild, Augsburg 2006, * ''Von der Kunst, zwischen sich und dem Boden ein Pferd zu behalten''. Berlin 2005,

Non-fiction

* ''Lexikon der Filmschurken'' January 2020 * ''The Successful Kid - A Diary for Smart Young Minds'', August 2015 * ''Die

Mitteleuropa (), meaning Middle Europe, is one of the German terms for Central Europe. The term has acquired diverse cultural, political and historical connotations. University of Warsaw, Johnson, Lonnie (1996) ''Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends' ...

debatte in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Zwischen Friedensbewegung, kultureller Identität und deutscher Frage''. Ibidem-Verlag, Hannover 2011, * '' 1968 – Die Kinder der Diktatur. Der Mythos der Studentenbewegung im ideengeschichtlichen Kontext des „hysterischen Jahrhunderts“ 1870 bis 1968''. Hannover 2011, * ''Erfolgreich im Studium der Geisteswissenschaften''. Francke, Tübingen 2005, * ''Manuskripte druckreif formatieren.'' Ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, * ''Was sind Gedankenexperimente? Kontrafaktische Annahmen in der Philosophie des Geistes – der Turingtest und das Chinesische Zimmer.'' Stuttgart 2001, * '' Themistokles, Sieger von Salamis und Herr von Magnesia. Die Anfänge der athenischen Klassik zwischen Marathon und Salamis.'' Stuttgart 2000,

Radio plays

* '' Ist das Ihr Fahrrad, Mr. O'Brien?'' Eine Hörspielcollage aus der Welt der Wissenschaft und des Suffs. SR 2003

Computer games and films

* Out of the Present * Fortress Under Siege

References

External links

* *
Personal blog

Interview in German on "Was mit Büchern"

Wikiart Albrecht Behmel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Behmel, Albrecht 1971 births Living people German libertarians Writers from Berlin Postmodern writers Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Heidelberg University alumni 20th-century German novelists 21st-century German novelists 20th-century German historians German male novelists German male dramatists and playwrights 21st-century German dramatists and playwrights 20th-century German male writers 21st-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers