Max Neumann, born 1949 in Saarbrücken, lives and works in Germany. While spending the wintertime in Berlin, in summer he withdraws to a remote peninsula, where he can leave himself to the visions and shadows which populate his paintings.
These figures are mostly hybrid fusions between human beings and animals. Because of their mask-like character these fantastic creatures give rise to free associations. Since individual features are missing, the works of Max Neumann are not narrative, but they are describing emotional conditions and stimulating evocations. On the one hand the number of signs is reduced, on the other these signs are distinguished by their ambiguity.
The composition of the works of Neumann is recognizable and also is their impact. It is not possible to analyze them exhaustively on account of their inherent logic of dream and unconsciousness. Showing us a mirror of our own fears and obsessions, his paintings cause a feeling of uneasiness and anxiety. Even if the process of creation originates in intuition, the formal aspect is of great relevance; the elements are perfectly balanced. Between shape and abstraction the figures have an emblematic content; they are not an image of a personality, but a symbol of the human being as such.
Biographie:
1998 Prize-winner of the Foundation Dr. Dietrich Schulz Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
1987-88 Guest teacher at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste Karlsruhe, Germany
1986 First Prize of the Villa Romana Firenze, Italy
1983 Prize-winner of the BDI Germany
1982 Winner of the Charlottenburger Kunstpreis Berlin, Germany
1970-1976 Studies at Akademie and Hochschule der Bildenden Berlin, Germany
1969-1970 Studies at Werkkunstschule Saarbrücken, Germany
