Painter Maximilian Arnold takes a conceptual approach to his medium, producing compositions through which he explores the history and possibilities of painting. “I think my task as a painter is to analyze the medium of painting and what it can be today in the [digital] age,” he has said. “I am painting without painting and at the same time I am deliberately not giving up the frame in order to position my work within this long and loaded tradition.” Working at a large scale, he utilizes stretched, stained, and collaged polyester, digital prints, enamel, spray paint, and other nontraditional materials to create compositions that appear painterly—even though he may never use a brush to make them. Through such works, Arnold effectively demonstrates that paintings may be much more than pigment applied to canvas.
He lives and works in Frankfurt am Main, DE. He attended AdBK Karlsruhe with Prof. Toon Verhoef, 2009-2013; Städelschule Frankfurt am Main with Prof. Willem de Rooij, 2013-2015.
Previous solo and two-person shows include: Zona Maco, Mexico City (MX), with Iris Touliatou; Aware Of Being Naive, Basis Showroom, Frankfurt am Main, DE, with Martin Kähler, 2016; Reasonable Doubt, DUVE Berlin, Berlin, DE, 2015; MiArt, Milan, IT, with Roman Liška, 2015; At The End Of Days Zombies Are Crawling Up The Walls, Im Hinterzimmer Showroom, Karlsruhe, DE, with Christian Falkner, 2014; The Show Must Go Wrong, Salon Kennedy, Frankfurt am Main, DE, 2014; Tu, Io, Noi, V8 Showroom, Karlsruhe, DE, with Henry Staschik, 2013; Cannot See Straight, Kensington Gardens Square, London, UK, by Salon Kennedy, 2012.
Selected group exhibitions include: Pressing Your Face in Wet Grass, PrivateOffspace, Frankfurt, DE; Tutti Meno Un Etto, Im Hinterzimmer Showroom, Karlsruhe, DE, 2017; Shades Of Grey, Kunstraum Riehen, Riehen, Basel, CH, 2016; Encoding the Urban, Kunsthaus Baselland, Muttenz, Basel, CH, 2016; My Third Wish Has Always Been Three More, Infinite Berlin, Berlin, DE, 2016; Von meinem IPhone gesendet, Alte Fleischmarkthalle Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, DE, 2016; Art Cologne, Cologne, DE, 2016; The Art Of The Matter, CAM St. Louis, St. Louis, US, 2016; Parked Like Serious Oysters, MMK Frankfurt am Main, DE, 2015; If it can’t burn us, can it still warm our hearts?, Mindscape Universe Showroom, Berlin, DE, 2015; Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, Villa Gellerstraße, Karlsruhe, DE, 2015; NADA, New York, US, 2015; Paint Me A River, Flur11 Showroom, Braunschweig, DE, 2014; Flumen, Kunsthalle Mulhouse, Mulhouse, FR, 2014.
Upcoming group exhibition: Painting Or Not, Kaviar Factory, Henningsvær, NO.