From Wimbledon winner to painter - Michael Stich exhibits at "Beyond Fame" alongside other stars

"BeyondFame" - The Art of the Stars is an art exhibition in Düsseldorf, where works by international and national celebrities from the worlds of sport, music, acting, politics and literature can currently be seen alongside works by former German tennis pro Michael Stich. Bryan Adams, Meret Becker, Peter Doherty and many others show their skills in photography, painting, video and installation.

Stich sees his art as a reflection of his personality and emotions. He developed an interest in art at a young age, was first an art collector and later began to paint himself, even during his active playing career.

"I often used tournament breaks to look at exhibitions." This was always a good distraction from the game," explained Stich, who also often exchanged ideas with John McEnroe, who owns a gallery himself.

Some may think: "Another celebrity who paints..."; tennis and art are far too different.

Stich, who in his time played against names like Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi, sees things very differently:

"The tennis court was a given space, but one in which I can be completely free. A canvas also provides this framework for creativity."

In addition, Stich, who studied art history for two semesters, has been painting as a self-taught artist for over 20 years.

"There are situations and moods when I know: I have to paint, the need simply comes out of me. It can be joy or frustration."

"It's a weird feeling to step into your own life a little bit through your own paintings, too."

In a painting from 2012 entitled "No Doubt," he also recorded his experiences at Wimbledon. In it, he has brought what he felt while watching old film clips and the intensive examination of the subject matter, in terms of color and structure on the canvas.

"If you want to winWimbledon, you have to believe in yourself." - hence the title "NoDoubt".

"Paintingis for me a good medium to represent emotions and thoughts."

"It's the subconscious that puts things on the canvas and frees me from them."

MichaelStich's paintings are large-format, richly colored in oil and acrylic on canvas.Just over a year ago, the Wimbledon, Davis Cup, Olympic and ATP world champion had his first exhibition of his own, also in Düsseldorf, with "SecureSurroundingsForBeauty".

For years he had hesitated to take this step, until he asked himself what he was actually waiting for. Finally, he faced it with the same 'NoDoubt' as he did back then on the tennis courts of the world.

"I hope people are honest about what they like and don't like. The nice thing is to see what others see in my paintings and how, in talking about art, thoughts come up that I wasn't aware of before."