* 29 August 1943 in Warnalischken (Lithuania), lives in Berlin
 
German paintress and graphic artist
 
The works of Vera Schwelgin are closely connected with her own life. Having grown up in Mecklenburg, her heart lies with the Baltic Sea. Here she created many of her paintings, which are characterised by subdued colours and symbolic visual language. To her, the sea symbolises life with all its desires and dreams, as well as man’s struggle with nature. In her creative work, graphic art and painting stand side by side on an equal footing, with her excellent wood-cut technique holding an outstanding position.
After taking her school-leavers’ exam, Vera Schwelgin attended a course of scientific-technological studies, and afterwards, from 1969 to 1974, she continued her studies at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. From 1975 to 1986 she worked as a freelance painter and graphic artist in Hirschburg (Vordarß) and was a member of the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR. In 1978 Vera Schwelgin exhibited for the first time in Kunstkaten Ahrenshoop; she participated in exhibitions in Uppsala and Riga. In 1986, she and her husband, the painter Wolfgang Reinke, moved to the Kreuzberg district of West Berlin, where they now both work as freelancers. Each year Vera Schwelgin spends a longer period of time at the Baltic coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The artist participates regularly in exhibitions.
Her paintings are in private and public collections, among others in the Kunsthalle Rostock, in the Kunstverein Schering and in the Art Collection of the city of Ribnitz-Damgarten.