Michael Luther

Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

Artist statement

Despite the wide variety of expressive forms, my approach to painting is very personal and very simple: painting itself is at the heart of my work. It’s about the process, experimentation, and searching and discovering within the medium. The ideas and motifs often arise in my immediate working environment; they are fueled by a dialogue with the materials, the tools, the studio or exhibition space, and my everyday surroundings. Whether it’s the sensual materiality of paint, photorealistic depictions, or the simple juxtaposition of individual brushstrokes, I work with the artistic possibilities of the medium. In this sense, there is no set theme; rather, it’s about the specific visual concept and the energetic effect I strive to achieve in its execution. My goal is to create images—and, in the case of art in architecture, places—that the viewer can experience primarily through the senses. In recent years, I have sought to continually simplify my painting; in my current abstract works, I explore the diverse possibilities of color overlays, layering, densification, and sequences. In doing so, I playfully work with the simplest painterly gesture—the brushstroke itself becomes the motif. Michael Luther, Berlin

Artwork