Biography

Max Neumann (b. 1949) turns the human figure into an abstract symbol, reducing his compositions to their pure essence. His faceless heads and bodies constitute a leitmotif of the artist’s work, a subject that carries tremendous weight despite their spare detail and placement in a rootless space. He draws from memory – dreamlike fragmented recollections reduced to the outline, shape and shadows of the originals. Neumann has constructed a visual vocabulary born from innumerable sources, including picture magazines, newspapers, and other media. He works primarily with black, but splashes of color sometimes make their appearance into his paintings and drawings, suggesting a deeper meaning. The artist leaves the viewer to fill in the gaps and construct imaginary narratives, as his compositions exist outside of time and space. With their bareness, Neumann’s paintings possess an emotive power that is remarkably real, yet entirely inferred.

 

Born in 1949 in Saarbruck, Germany, Neumann studied art in Kalsruhe and later at the University of Fine Arts in Berlin. He has been the recipient of many awards including the BDI (Germany Industry Federation), the Villa Romana Award, the Dr. Dietrich Schluz Foundation Award, the Award of the City of Iserlohn, and the Grand Prix de S.A.S. le Prince Rainer III of Monaco. Neumann’s 2012 exhibition at Bruce Silverstein marked his first solo show in New York.

 

Since the late 1970s the artist has had more than 150 solo exhibitions internationally. Among them are The Museum Folkwang, Essen; Saarlandmuseum Saarbruck; the Centre d’Art Plastiques, Royan; Espace d’Art Contemporain André Malraux, Colmar; Gallery Vidal-Saint Phalle, Paris; Gallery Stefan Röpke, Cologne; Gallery Pascal Polar, Brussels; Mimmo Scognamiglio Arte Contemporanea, Milan; Galería Arnés y Röpke, Madrid; Gallery Georg Nothelfer, Berlin and Satani Gallery, Tokyo.

 

His works are in numerous public and private collections such as the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin; The Museum Folkwag, Essen; Museo de Bellas Artes, Oviedo; Hamburger Kunsthalle; Fondation Maeght, St. Paul de Vence; and the Seibu Museum, Tokyo. Max Neumann lives and works in Berlin.

Selected Works
  • Untitled, August 24
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, August 24, 1992
    Mixed-media on canvas
    94 1/2 x 59 x 3 in (240 x 149.9 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, June
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, June, 1993
    Glue tempera and oil collage
    82 5/8 x 118 1/8 x 3 in (209.9 x 300 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, July
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, July, 1999
    Mixed-media on canvas
    63 x 47 1/4 x 3 in (160 x 120 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, October
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, October, 2005
    Oil and acrylic on nettle canvas
    78 5/8 x 59 x 3 in (199.7 x 149.9 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, May
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, May, 2007
    Mixed-media collage with oil, acrylic, and paper on wood
    15 3/4 x 11 3/4 x 2 3/8 in (40 x 29.8 x 6 cm)
  • Untitled, July
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, July, 2008
    Oil on canvas
    63 x 47 1/4 x 3 in (160 x 120 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, December 15, 2010
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, December 15, 2010, 2010
    Oil paint on photograph
    11 x 7 1/2 x 3 in (27.9 x 19.1 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, November 22, 2010
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, November 22, 2010, 2010
    Oil paint on photograph
    11 x 8 x 3 in (27.9 x 20.3 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, October 19
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, October 19, 2011
    Oil on photograph
    8 3/8 x 6 1/4 x 3 in (21.3 x 15.9 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, October 28
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, October 28, 2011
    Mixed media on paper and canvas
    19 1/4 x 19 1/4 x 3 in (48.9 x 48.9 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, March
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, March, 2012
    Acrylic on canvas
    51 1/8 x 51 1/8 x 3 in (129.7 x 129.7 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, July
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, July, 2013
    Oil and acrylic on canvas
    95 3/4 x 61 x 3 in (243.2 x 154.9 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, June
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, June, 2013
    Oil on canvas
    25 1/4 x 17 3/8 x 3 in (64.1 x 44.1 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, November
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, November, 2013
    Oil, acrylic, and charcoal on canvas
    78 5/8 x 59 x 3 in (199.7 x 149.9 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, August
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, August, 2014
    Oil and acrylic on canvas
    39 3/8 x 31 1/2 x 3 in (99.9 x 79.9 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, July
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, July, 2014
    Oil and acrylic on canvas
    63 x 47 1/4 x 3 in (159.9 x 119.9 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, 2016-2017
    Oil and acrylic on canvas
    82 7/8 x 50 7/8 x 3 in (210.5 x 129.2 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, June
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, June, 2018
    Oil on canvas
    23 3/4 x 19 3/4 x 3 in (60.3 x 50.2 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, June
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, June, 2018
    Oil and acrylic on canvas
    15 3/4 x 11 3/4 x 3 in (40 x 29.8 x 7.6 cm)
  • Untitled, May
    Max Neumann
    Untitled, May, 2018
    Oil on wood
    15 5/8 x 15 5/8 x 3 in (39.7 x 39.7 x 7.6 cm)
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