Max Gärtner

With his graphically abstract representations of various creatures, the Spanish/German artist, Max Gärtner, explores the tensions and interrelations between reality and the metaphysical, between the natural and supernatural. Having completed his Graphic Arts degree in Barcelona in 2008, Max Gärtner went on, not only to be involved in a diverse range of projects with the art collective Barri Groc, but to also make a name for himself as an illustrator and character designer. In addition to this, his works of art were also displayed at various solo and group exhibitions throughout Europe. He has been living and working in Berlin since March 2012, where he has further established himself and expanded his artistic spectrum within a variety of exhibitions.

“I consider the hand-drawn line to be of extreme importance, it’s the basis for all my work. To draw by hand represents, to certain extent, presenting one’s most inner self — there is no room for deception, the spectator receives an unadulterated insight.”

This artistic statement is reflected in the stunning detail of his portraits, which always stem from the hand-drawn line, despite their exploitation of an array of techniques.

Due to his fascination with nature and unerring interest in the animal kingdom, Max Gärtner has become known as “an explorer among artists”. While the natural sciences aim to rationalise the world through chains of logic and the deliberation of facts, thusly implying a categorical separation of subjective and objective reality, through his work, Max Gärtner draws an opposing picture of this definition. His new works vividly pervade the field of consciousness, in which rational thought and with it language, as a means of mediation, are both pushed to their limits. He subsequently applies his visual language in order to make this metaphysical level both tangible and palpable.

Just as Max Gärtner draws no boundary between nature and the so-called “supernatural”, he discards any contrast or conflict between dreams and reality in his work – he emphasises that everything one feels is fundamentally real. The would-be contrasting poles melt together through their mediation.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

• LAND OF GODS / Víctor Lope Gallery. Barcelona. 2016
• ORIGINS / WOW Gallery. Heidelberg. 2015
• NO LIE IN FIRE / BC Gallery. Berlin. 2014
• ANIMAL WATCHING / Platoon Kunsthalle. Berlin. 2013
• ANIMAL WATCHING in coll. with Pictoplasma and Bold / Bold Room. Berlin. 2013
• ANIMALIA II / Bold Room. Berlin. 2012
• ANIMALIA / La Plataforma Gallery. Barcelona. 2012

COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS  /  ART FAIRS

• POP UP GALLERY / Villa Del Arte Galleries. New York City. 2017
• ART BODENSEE / Neue Kunst Gallery. Dornbirn. Austria. 2017
• AFFORDABLE ART FAIR / Villa Del Arte Galleries. New York City. 2017
• ART ON PAPER ART FAIR / Villa Del Arte Galleries. New York City. 2017
• DRAWING SCULPTURES / A two artist exhibition in collaboration with David Moreno / Neue Kunst Gallery. Karlsruhe. 2017
• ART BREDA ART FAIR / Van Dun Gallery. Breda. 2017
• WIKAM ART FAIR /  Neue Kunst Gallery. Vienna. 2017
• ART KARLSRUHE / Neue Kunst Gallery. Karlsruhe. 2017
• FOUR PLAY / 30Works Gallery. Cologne. 2017
• ART.FAIR / Víctor Lope Gallery. Cologne. 2016
• SWAB CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR / Víctor Lope Gallery. Barcelona. 2016
• ART & ANTIQUE ART FAIR / Alp Galleries. Wiesbaden. 2016  
• CODE INCONNU / Víctor Lope Gallery. Barcelona. 2016
• ALP GALLERIES / Slava Seidel & Max Gärtner. Frankfurt am Main. 2015
• ART.FAIR / Víctor Lope Gallery. Cologne. 2015
• VERNISSAGE KÜNSTLERMESSE ART FAIR / WOW Gallery. Schloss Schwetzingen. 2015
• MARCO / Museum of Contemporary Arts Monterrey. Mexico. 2014
• MILLERNTOR GALLERY. Hamburg. 2014
• THE PICTOPLASMA PORTRAIT GALLERY GROUP SHOW / Kaufhaus Jandorf. Berlin. 2014
• WILLI BENDER / Wow Gallery. Berlin. 2014
• ART.FAIR / Julia Raab Gallery. Cologne. 2013
• FLY AUCTIONS. Hamburg. 2013
• NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS / Julia Raab Gallery. Berlin. 2013
• THE CONCEPT OF NATURE / Julia Raab Gallery. Berlin. 2013
• VICTOR LOPE GALLERY / Barcelona. 2013
• INSIDERS / N2 GALLERY. Barcelona. 2012
• DEL MURAL'ART / at the metro of Barcelona. 2012
• COLECTIVA / Ignacio de Lassaletta Gallery. Barcelona. 2011
• PICTOPLASMA'S MISSING LINK / Gaite Lyrique Theater. Paris. 2011
• Participation in the project SentArte, an initiative of SWAB which later exhibited works created during the art fair. Barcelona. 2011
• NON TOXIC FESTIVAL .Badalona. 2010
• LA BADALONA UNDERGROUND / El Refugi. Badalona. 2009
• THE GILGAMESH PROJECT / Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB). Barcelona. 2008
• THE GILGAMESH PROJECT / CaixaForum Museum. Barcelona. 2008

Copyright

All imagery appearing on this site are the exclusive property of MAX GÄRTNER, and are protected under international copyright laws.