MATTHIAS WEISCHER

Lives and works in Leipzig (DE)

Throughout his career, Matthias Weischer has explored the illusory potential of pictorial space through multiple perspectives. He uses the domestic realm as a framework to enhance the viewer’s experience of the interior as a stage for symbolic objects, while his thick application of paint speaks to a practice rich with conceptual and material exploration.

One of the foremost painters of his generation, Weischer trained at the Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts. Best known for his atmospheric still-life works and his layered, collage-like explorations of perception and psychological relationships to one’s surroundings, Weischer has honed his technique through crafting scenes repeatedly, staging his own studio in the style of his painterly compositions.

In his new work, Weischer constructs enigmatic interior scenes that suggest a fleeting human presence. Each room captures an in-between moment; the rooms themselves appear almost in disrepair, as sparsely placed furniture suggests a state of abandonment. The spaces become increasingly uncanny due to the artist’s depiction of paintings within many of the scenes, creating a disorienting layering of dimensions.

In 2004, Weischer was chosen as the protégé of the British artist David Hockney through the Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative. In 2005 Weischer participated in the Prague Biennial 2 (CZ) and the 51st Venice Biennial (IT).

Recent exhibitions: OUR HOUSE, Museum Giersch of the Goethe, University, Frankfurt am Main (DE), 2024; Matthias Weischer, with Wolfram Ebersbach, Marburger Kunstverein, Marburg (DE), 2024; Arcadia, Kewenig Gallery, Berlin (DE), 2024; Licked by the Waves | New Bathers in Art, Museum MORE, Gorssel (NL), 2024; True Colors, AkzoNobel Art Foundation at the Kunstmuseum den Haag (NL), 2024; Sequence, GRIMM, New York, NY (US), 2023; STANZE, Fondazione Coppola, Vicenza (IT), 2023; Wo Man Sich Trifft / Where We Meet, curated by Juriaan Benschop, Emsdettener Kunstverein (DE), 2023; Celebrating __20 years of mentoring, EMST, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (GR), 2023; and Mirrors and Things, König Galerie, Tokyo (JP), 2022.

Selected collections: AkzoNobel Art Foundation, Amsterdam (NL); AmC Collezione Coppola, Vicenza (IT); Arken Museum of Modern Art, Arken (DK); Drents Museum, Assen (NL); Essl Museum - Kunst der Gegenwart, Klosterneuburg (AT); Fundació Sorigué, Lleida (ES); G2 Kunsthalle, Leipzig (DE); The Hort Family Collection, New York, NY (US); Kunstmuseum, The Hague (NL); MdbK | Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig (DE); Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA (US); Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt am Main (DE); Olbricht Foundation, Berlin (DE); Pinault Collection, Paris (FR); Rubell Museum, Miami, FL and Washington DC (US); Sammlung Goetz, München (DE); Scharpff Collection, Bonn (DE); SØR Rusche Sammlung Oelde/Berlin, Oelde-Stromberg (DE); Telegraph Foundation, Olomouc (CZ); Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar (NL); Weserburg | Museum für moderne Kunst, Bremen (DE) and Zabludowicz Collection, London (UK).

Courtesy GRIMM