With his abstract representations of various creatures, the Spanish/German artist Max Gärtner explores the tensions and interrelationships between reality and the metaphysical, between the natural and the supernatural.

After having completed his studies of graphic arts in Barcelona, Max Gärtner continued, involving himself in a wide range of projects with the art collective Barri Groc, but also continued a parallel project as an illustrator and character designer.

In addition to this, his works were exhibited in several solo and group exhibitions throughout Europe. He has been living and working in Berlin since March 2012, where he has expanded his artistic spectrum within a variety of exhibitions.

“I consider the hand-drawn line to be of extreme importance; it is the basis of all my work. Drawing by hand represents, to a certain extent, the presentation of oneself – there is no room for deception, the viewer receives an adulterated vision.”

Due to his fascination with nature and unequivocal interest in the animal kingdom, Max Gärtner has come to be known as “an explorer among artists”. While the natural sciences aim to rationalize the world through the chains of logic and deliberation of facts, implying a categorical separation of subjective and objective reality, through his work, Max Gärtner gives us an opposite view of this definition. “ARIKA” (2018) is a clear example of Gärtner’s style.