MICHAIL PIRGELIS
b. 1976, GermanyArtist Michail Pirgelis breathes new life into decommissioned aircraft, creating abstracted and monumental works that reflect on human capabilities, as well as humanity’s failures.
Michail Pirgelis was born in 1976 in Essen, Germany and grew up in Xanthi, Greece. A graduate of the prestigious Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 2009 and a former Master’s student of Rosemarie Trockel, Pirgelis is known for his artistic practice exploring the sculptural possibilities of decommissioned aeroplane parts.
Pirgelis’ work has been recognised by award-giving bodies such as the Audi Art Award for New Positions at Art Cologne in 2010, the Adolf Loos Prize from the Van den Valentyn Foundation in 2008, and the Villa Romana Prize in 2007. He has also received nominations for awards such as the Hans-Purrmann Preis in 2015 and the Deste Prize in 2013.
Michail Pirgelis Artworks
Pirgelis’ work is rooted in the traditions of post-minimalism and the readymade. Utilising found objects, he subtly modifies their surfaces, making subtle changes to create sculptures that reference the objects’ previous human use while also positioning these items as relics of civilisation.
Pirgelis’s sculptures are primarily created from authentic aircraft components sourced from aeroplane graveyards in the Mojave Desert, California, and Arizona. His process has involved sifting through aircraft cemeteries in California and Arizona, where parts of passenger planes are left to be dismantled, recycled, and reused. He then isolates specific elements from these vessels to create sculptures that allow viewers to question the materiality and ‘improbability’ of human locomotion and flight. It is significant that, on occasion, the parts he has used for his works have subsequently been reabsorbed into working aeroplanes.
Ikarus, UNIVRS, the Dream of Flight and More
Pirgelis’ first exploration into aviation was Ikarus (2001), in which he installed a whole section of a Boeing 727, its seats covered in wax, about the mythological story of the same name. Since Ikarus, Pirgelis has approached his interest in aircraft with a more abstract and minimal lens.
In UNIVRS (2012/18), Pirgelis exhibited a cross-section of the passenger area of an Airbus 300. This monumental sculpture, which at first glance resembles an arch, is only recognisable as a plane by identifying the signature rounded windows, one on each side of the structure. Apart from exhibiting the plane and its exterior structure, Pirgelis has also worked on features such as seatbelts, toilets, and overhead lockers.
Pirgelis has also played with specific rectangular sections of the aircraft’s façade to create almost painterly, wall-bound work. In Trading News (2015), the artist cut out a small section of a plane to show part of an Air Canada logo, then lightly painted over it, casting a veil over the maple leaf. Another work, Italian Radio (2019), in which he used another section from a plane, appears to be an abstract painting as Pirgelis zeroes in on the minute details of the aircraft’s surface. In his 2022 solo exhibition Opaque Surfaces at Sprüth Magers, Berlin, Pirgelis continued this trajectory of responding to and working with decommissioned aircraft while also further integrating painterly references in his work.
Since 2022, Pirgelis has expanded the painterly and conceptual dimensions of his practice further. His 2025 solo exhibition, Seven Springs at Sprüth Magers, Berlin, introduced new wall-based works featuring striped and flag-like motifs, as well as a large-scale wallpaper installation, reflecting his ongoing interest in the intersection of painting, sculpture, and environment. These recent works demonstrate a heightened engagement with abstraction and surface, further blurring the boundaries between industrial artifact and autonomous artwork.
Exhibitions and Public Art Commissions
Solo Exhibitions
- Seven Springs, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, 2025
- Opaque Surfaces, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, 2022
- Aeromaritime, Artothek Cologne, 2011
- Akropolis, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, 2010
- Aerotopie, Förderverein Aktuelle Kunst, Münster, 2006
Group Exhibitions
- Sculpture in the City, London, 2018
- Athens Biennale, 2018
- Istanbul Modern, 2014
- Kunsthalle Nuremberg, 2019
- Rubell Family Collection, Miami, 2015
- Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, 2012
Pirgelis’s sculptures have also been featured in public art initiatives, most notably with the installation of UNIVRS in the City of London’s Sculpture in the City programme in 2018.
Michail Pirgelis FAQs
Where is Michail Pirgelis based?
Pirgelis lives and works in Cologne, Germany.
What materials does he use in his sculptures?
He primarily uses authentic parts from decommissioned commercial aircraft sourced from airplane graveyards in the United States, particularly in California and Arizona.
How does Pirgelis approach the transformation of found objects?
He minimally intervenes with the original materials, sometimes grinding, polishing, or removing paint to reveal structural details, but always aiming to preserve the aura and history of the objects.
How has his work evolved since 2022?
Since 2022, Pirgelis has increasingly explored painterly abstraction and environmental installation, introducing wall-based works featuring striped and flag-like motifs, as well as large-scale wallpaper installations that further blur the distinction between painting and sculpture.
What themes are central to his practice?
Pirgelis’s work explores the tension between technological ambition and human fragility, the transformation of utilitarian objects into contemplative art, and the poetic potential of industrial remnants.
Has he received any notable awards?
Yes, including the Villa Romana Prize (2007), Adolf Loos Prize (2008), and Audi Art Award for New Positions at Art Cologne (2010).
Where has his work been exhibited?
His sculptures have appeared in solo and group exhibitions at Sprüth Magers (Berlin), Artothek Cologne, Sculpture in the City (London), Kunsthalle Nuremberg, Athens Biennale, Istanbul Modern, and the Rubell Family Collection (Miami).
Has Pirgelis’s work been reintegrated into functioning aircraft?
On occasion, the artist’s sculptures have been reinstalled into working planes, underscoring the cyclical nature of use and reuse in his practice.
Arianna Mercado | Ocula | 2025
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