Mathis Altmann

Mathis Altmann (born in 1987 in Munich, lives and works in Zurich) belongs to a generation of artists whose work is characterized by a strong socio-critical awareness. His installations undermine the illusion of a glamorous and carefree world by allowing viewers to look behind the surface. Altmann creates strikingly contrasting scenarios using consumer goods, everyday objects, waste, and construction materials. His work subtly plays with the traditions of assemblage and collage, while thematically depicting a fragmented world.

His pieces revolve around themes such as abundance, consumption, functionality, and superficiality. Of particular importance to him are the conditions of creative digital work within the context of an accelerated, globalized urban environment. He does not counter the complexity of the world with simplification, but rather by theatrically exaggerating the overabundance of information to the point of the grotesque—creating a complex entanglement of content and form fragments that engage with ambiguity, controversy, and incompatibility.

Mathis Altmann was awarded the 12th Manor Art Prize of the Canton of Zurich.