Bernhard Martin
Bernhard Martin (b. Hanover, Germany) lives and works in Berlin, Germany after moving his studio from London, UK in 2014. Martin’s works, primarily oil paintings, sculptures, and colored pencil drawings, bring art-historical and pop imagery together in surreal juxtaposition, fusing reality and fantasy. His complex narrative styles combine influences that lead the viewer into an alternate reality of a deeply personal deconstruction of the medium itself. His paintings can be understood as psychological and philosophical observations in which the artist deals with his perspectives on technology, environment, gender, politics, economics, and class, without moralizing. He sees pictures that are one of a kind and paints pictures that are one of a kind. In recent years, Martin has exhibited his work around the world; his solo exhibition at MoMA PS1 in 2001 was a milestone.
Born in 1966, Hanover, Germany, Lives and works in Berlin, Germany
EDUCATIONS
1983 - 1989 Studies and Diploma at Kunsthochschule Kassel, Germany with Harry Kramer.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS (selected)
2020
- Do’s And Don’ts And Want’s And Won’ts, CHOI&LAGER Gallery, Cologne
- Berliner Luft, DITTRICH & SCHLECHTRIEM, Berlin (cat.)
- Image Ballet, Haus Am Waldsee, Berlin (cat.)
2019
- Disconnected Truth, DITTRICH & SCHLECHTRIEM, Berlin (cat.)
2017
- Total Liquidation Impact, Barbara Seiler Gallery, Zürich
2016
- Love and Money?, ToGu Architecture, Marseille
2015
- Fred Thieler Preis 2015 Berlinische Galerie, Berlin (cat.)
2013
- The Nothing is our story Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris
2012
- Bell Cazzo, Vita Figa Part 2, Union Gallery, London
- Diktatur der Hormone, Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin
2011
- Eissalon Bernhard Martin, Kunstraum Deutsche Bank, Salzburg
2009
- Dogma freier Raum, Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin
- Thema verfehlt, Kunsthalle Lingen, Lingen (cat.)
2008
- Thema verfehlt, Städtische Galerie Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg (cat.)
- Arriba, abajo, a la derecha y a la izquierda, Joan Prats Gallery, Barcelona
- Corner Space with Jonathan Lasker, Thomas Schulte Galerie, Berlin
- Gott und ich wir wissen’s schon, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg
- Prognosefehler, Team Gallery, New York
2006
- Verpasste Gelegenheiten, Arario Museum, Seoul (cat.)
- Brennholz+Ravioli, Patricia Low Contemporary, Gstaad
2005
- Villa Arson with Larry Pittman, Nice (cat.)
- Ichlinge+Dulinge, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris
2004
- Bahnhofsviertel, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg
2003
- Gartencenter, Spencer Brownstone Gallery, New York
2002
- Ich zeige Ihnen gerne meinen Nassbereich“ with Peter Saul and Martin Kippenberger, MAMCO Genève, Geneva
2001
- Softcore, Mannheimer Kunstverein, Mannheim (cat.)
- MoMA PS1 with Atelier Van Lieshout, New York
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (selected)
2022
- FLOWER, CHOI&CHOI Gallery, Seoul
- Bergen Assembly, organized by Saadane Afif and curated by and Yasmine d’O, Bergen
2021
- Compressed Time, FS. Art, Berlin
2020
- The Year of the Rat, DITTRICH & SCHLECHTRIEM, Berlin
- In aller Munde, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany
- From Dusk till Form, curated by Bernhard Martin, featuring Imre Bak, Jonathan Lasker, Bernhard Martin, Frank Nietsche, Gerwald Rockenschaub, Andreas Schulze, and Rose Whylie, ACB, Budapest
- Le Cabaret du Néant (Cabaret of Nothingness), frac île‑de‑france, le château, Paris
2018
- Boy meets Girl, curated by Rose Wylie, Choi&Lager, Cologne
- Entfesselte Natur, curated by M. Bertsch, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg
- Chambre d´Amour, Int. Biennale d´Art Contemporain, curated by Richard Leydier, Anglet/Biarritz, Côte Basque (cat.)
- Heimvorteil, German artists of the Schauffler collection, Schaulager Sindelfingen, Sindelfingen
- Rendezvous with an Impulse, curated by Christoph Tannert, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (cat.)
2016
- Gestatten Kästner, Riesa Efau Motorenhalle, Dresden (cat.)
2015
- Un Mural des Tableaux, FRAC Ile-de-France, Paris
- Malerei, böse, Hamburger Kunstverein, Hamburg
- Berlin Artist Statements, curated by Christoph Tannert, BWA, Katowice (cat.)
2013
- Signs of the Times, curated by Richard Leydier, Carré Sainte-Anne, Montpellier (cat.)
2012
- Ausstellung zur Auction 3000 Auktion for the Operndorf of Christoph Schlingensief Burkina Faso, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin
- Painting Forever, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (cat.)
2010
- Let´s Dance, MAC/ VAL Musée d´art contemporain du Val-de Marne, Vitry-sur Seine (cat.)
- The end of the world as we know it.., curated by Bettina Steinbrügge, Kunsthalle de Mulhouse, Mulhouse (cat.)
2007
- Hamsterwheel, curated by Franz West, Le Printemps de Septembre à Toulouse, Toulouse
- Hamsterwheel, curated by Franz West, Centre d’Art Santa Mònica, Barcelona
- Foodscape, Solares Foundation, Parma
2006
- Full House, Kunsthalle Mannheim, Mannheim
- partenaire/particulier, Espace Paul Ricard, Paris
2004
- The future has a silver lining, Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich
2003
- How high can you fly, Kunsthaus Glarus, Glarus, Switzerland Lichtkunst, ZKM, Karlsruhe (cat.)
- deutschemalereizweitausenddrei, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt a. M.
2002
- Né un 3 septembre, FRAC Bourgogne, Dijon
2001
- Neue Welt, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt a.M. (cat.)
- Tirana Biennale I, Tirana (cat.)
- I love Dijon, Le Consortium (département Nouvelles Scènes), Dijon
2000
- ein|räumen, Kunsthalle Hamburg, Hamburg (cat.)
- Voilà - le monde dans la tete, Musée d’Art Moderne de la de Ville de Paris, Paris
RESIDENCIES, AWARDS & GRANTS
2015 Fred-Thieler-Award for painting, Berlin, Germany
2009-2013 Residence in London, UK
2008 Artist Award of the City of Wolfsburg, Germany
2003 Grant of Villa Arson, Nice, France
1998 Grant of Hessische Kulturstiftung, Wiesbaden, Germany
1996 Grant of Stiftung Leube, Salzburg, Austria
1992 Grant of Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
1990 – 1991 Awardee of the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Program) in Barcelona, Spain
1984 – 1987 Residence in Barcelona, Spain
Selected Public Collections
- Arario Museum, Seoul, South Korea
- Deutsche Bank Art Collection, Frankfurt, Germany
- FRAC Bourgogne, Dijon, France
- FRAC Ile-de-France, Paris, France
- JPMorgan Chase Art Collection, New York, USA
- MAMCO, Geneva, Switzerland
- Migros Museum für Gegenwart, Zürich, Switzerland
- Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, Austria
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA
- Rubell Family Collection, Miami, USA
- The Sander Collection, Berlin, Germany
- The Schauffler Foundation Schauwerk, Sindelfingen, Germany
- Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary - TBA21, Vienna, Austria