Christoph Niemann's sketchbook
The personal account of German illustrator Christoph Niemann: travel ink drawings, silkscreen prints and clever visual jokes built from everyday objects.
What it is
@abstractsunday is the personal account of Christoph Niemann, the German artist and illustrator. The name comes from his old Abstract Sunday column for The New York Times, but today it works more like an open window into his studio. It has well over a million followers, yet it still reads like something he posts for friends: drawings, prints, invitations to his open studio days.
Captions are short and in English. The pictures work fine without them.
Why we picked it
Niemann does the thing most of us are too nervous to do: keep one idea in a drawing and cut everything else. In September 2026 he posted ink sketches from a trip to San Francisco, a new five-colour silkscreen of the Gardens of Augustus on Capri, and a set of drawings he described as his attempt to untangle his mind in a complicated world.
It is also refreshingly active. New posts land roughly every week, and you can see what he is working on right now: a gallery show in Zurich, a large woven installation in a Berlin photography museum café, open studio weekends with a pop-up shop next door. No trend-chasing, just the work.
Where to start
- Scroll back to the object pieces, where a coffee cup or a shoe gets finished in ink and turns into something else.
- Look at the travel ink drawings; they are quick, loose and warm.
- Check the silkscreen posts to see how prints are built up colour by colour.
- If you are in Berlin, watch for open studio announcements.
Who it's for
Illustrators and designers who need a break from overworked visuals. Anyone who enjoys wordless visual humour. Parents too, since a lot of the drawings play like little puzzles for kids.
Quick answers
Do I need to read the captions? Not really. They are brief and the drawings carry the idea.
How often does he post? When we checked in September 2026, about once a week or more.
Is this the official account? Yes, his own website links to @abstractsunday.
