About

 Gabriel Heimler and Anna Proc are a New Zealand artistic duo of European origin whose collaborative practice explores cultural identity, historical memory, human individuality, and the interplay between reality and imagination. Working across painting, mural art, conceptual practice, and public art, they investigate the dialogue between their European cultural heritage and the distinctive social and cultural landscape of New Zealand.

The duo became widely recognised in Wellington for The Mover, a large-scale mural created on the wall of the Quality Hotel, formerly the Museum Hotel, near Te Papa Tongarewa. In 2011, The Mover was voted by Wellingtonians as the city’s second-best public outdoor artwork of the year, establishing the artists as significant contributors to Wellington’s public art landscape.

Gabriel Heimler was born in Paris and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts before moving to Berlin. His artistic career gained international recognition following the creation of The Wall Jumper on the Berlin Wall in 1989. The work became part of Berlin’s historic East Side Gallery and has since become one of the city’s most recognised surviving works of Berlin Wall art, seen by millions of visitors each year. A unique reproduction of The Wall Jumper is also installed in a light box at Berlin Brandenburg Airport.

During the early decades of his career, Heimler developed a body of work characterised by socially and historically engaged imagery. His paintings have been presented and sold through Sotheby’s in New York and through galleries in Berlin, Paris, Frankfurt and Brussels, among other international centres. His Berlin projects have also included the design of a room at the Art Hotel Luise.

Anna Proc was born and initially educated in Toruń, Poland, before pursuing further studies in Paris, London and Berlin. With an academic background in cultural history and linguistics, she brings a strong interdisciplinary and research-based perspective to the duo’s artistic practice. Her conceptual collaboration with Heimler began through Art Express, a travelling exhibition presented in Berlin, Budapest and Essen. Their partnership subsequently developed into a sustained interdisciplinary practice combining visual art, cultural research, symbolism and conceptual exploration.

In 2010, Heimler and Proc relocated to Wellington, where they established their artistic practice in New Zealand. Their work examines cultural encounter and fusion, bringing together their European artistic heritage with elements drawn from New Zealand’s cultural environment. Their collaborative language frequently incorporates symbolism, transformation and magical realism, while placing particular emphasis on individuality, human experience and the emotional dimensions of contemporary life.

Their practice has an international dimension. In 2019, two of their works were exhibited at the Beijing International Art Biennale, extending their presence into the Asian contemporary art context.

In 2023, Heimler and Proc published Metamorphosis in the Land of Birds, a book documenting and reflecting upon their thirteen-year artistic engagement with New Zealand. The publication represents a significant synthesis of their artistic research and experience in the country.

Their international mural practice continued in Europe and Asia. In 2024, they created Fox Abor in Kolesd, Hungary. The mural subsequently became a local landmark, and the artists were awarded honorary citizenship of Kolesd in recognition of their contribution to the town.

In 2025, during an artist residency in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, Heimler and Proc created Panda’s Survivor, further developing their engagement with large-scale public art, cultural symbolism and site-responsive artistic practice.

Across more than three decades of artistic activity, Heimler and Proc have developed a distinctive collaborative practice as New Zealand artists of European origin, moving between painting, public art and conceptual inquiry. Their work brings together historical consciousness, cultural exchange and imaginative transformation, creating a dialogue between European artistic traditions and the multicultural environment of contemporary New Zealand.

A note to be placed in the BERLIN section.

A note from Karoline Müller, the owner of the Ladengalerie that represented Gabriel in Berlin, in his praise:

'Dear Gabriel Heimler,

From your new paintings, it is clear that you are doing well. You have made great strides in your presentation of content and form.

Greetings from Berlin,

Yours Karoline'