Work

About the artist

Markus Vater’s works move easily and naturally in the most diverse artistic genres. These include drawing, painting, sculpture, animation, video, photography and texts. He combines the latter with image and drawing, thus creating subtly humorous, absurd, but also poetic and reflected visual worlds. Markus Vater is concerned with questions of being human, such as the absurdities of everyday life, the relationships in which mankind stands, the existence of God, with what is seen and dreamed.
Markus Vater – Galerie Rupert Pfab
Markus Vater – Galerie Rupert Pfab
Markus Vater – Galerie Rupert Pfab
Markus Vater – Galerie Rupert Pfab
Markus Vater – Galerie Rupert Pfab
Markus Vater – Galerie Rupert Pfab

Solo Shows

2022
MARY SEES THE SUN, Bluebox, Sprengel Museum, Hannover
2019
Entfernungen – Zeichnungen, Malereien, Animation, Thaler Originalgrafik, Leipzig, Germany
2018
Ich bin der Riss der durch die Welt geht – Zeichnungen, Galerie Rupert Pfab, Düsseldorf, Germany
Alles fliesst, nur weiss niemand wohin, Galerie in der Stadtscheune, Otterndorf, Germany
What you see is not what you look at, Kunstverein Ludwigsburg, Germany
Sitting in a Hole that has the Shape of a Frightend Cat, Union Gallery, London, UK
2017
Teilnahme an der ASP Glasgow, Artist SELF-PUBLISHERS’ fair, CCA Glasgow, UK
2016
Artist Lecture: „Smoke without fire“, Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart, Campus Weißenhof: Altbau, Alte Aula, Germany
Orbital Explorer, Kulturforum ALTE POST, Neuss, Germany
In einer anderen Sprache bin ich ein anderer Mensch, Orangerie Schloss Rheda und Werkstatt Bleichhäuschen, Germany
2015
I imagine how You imagine I imagine You, Galerie Rupert Pfab, Düsseldorf, Germany
Sorgen machen kann man sich wenn man tod ist, Orangerie, Kunstverein Werkstatt, Germany
In einer anderen Sprache bin ich ein anderer Mensch, Orangerie Schloss Rheda und Werkstatt Bleichhaeuschen, Rheda Wiedenbrueck, Germany
2014
Wogegen ist eigentlich die Gegenwart?, Kunstverein Rostock, Germany
2013
Die Unendlichkeit ist auch nicht mehr was Sie mal war, Galerie Peter Zimmermann, Mannheim, Germany
At the end of the world, Number 82, Deptford, London, UK
2010
Das Metapherproblem,Spot On 05, Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany
2009 A show about things that are there because they are not there: like a shadow or death, Zinger presents, London, UK
Heute denke ich mich in ein Blatt hinein, Rudolph Scharpf Galerie, Wilhelm Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
Worlds don’t come easy, Display, Wilhelm Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
2008
Briefe an die Schmetterlinge, Sies+Hoeke Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany
2007
Death and his combineharvester, Zinger presents, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Projekt Passanten, Fundament Foundation, Tilburg, Netherlands
2006
Alle Wege führen in die Hosentaschen der Nachkriegsgeneration, Sies + Hoeke Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany
2005
?, Artagents Gallery , Hamburg, Germany
2004
Gibt es Geschehnisse ,die nicht an Orten stattfinden?,  Sies + Hoeke Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany
2003
Das Orakel, Foerderkoje auf der Art Cologne , Köln, Germany
2002
Markus Vater, Vilma Gold Gallery, London, UK
At the end of the world…, Escale, Düsseldorf, Germany
Drawings and Animations, Sies + Hoeke Gallery, Düsseldorf, Germany
2000
Das Hans Albers Projekt, SITE Ausstellungsraum, Düsseldorf, Germany
1998
“her hands smell of architecture“ , Ginsa, Tokio, Japan

Grants and Awards

2003
Villa Romana Scholarship, Florence, Italy
1999
Bundy Travel Award (RCA), New York, USA
1998
Oliver Sweeny-Esquire Award, Tokyo, Japan
DAAD-Scholarship (England)

Collections

Grafische Sammlung des Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf
Sammlung des Wilhelm Hack Museums, Ludwigshafen
Sammlung Willi Michel des Franz Gertsch Museums, Switzerland
Sammlung Falkenberg, Hamburg
Sammlung Deutsche Bank ,Frankfurt
Collection Frank Cohen, Cheshire
Sammlung Werner Dohmen, Aachen
Melitta Artcollection
Collection of the Royal College of Art, London
Channel4-Artcollection, London

Biography

Markus Vater had already studied art history and philosophy before he went to the Düsseldorf Art Academy. There he studied with Dieter Krieg and Alfonso Hüppi (master class) and then at the Royal College of Art in London. Between 2000 and 2014 he was a guest lecturer at various universities, such as Goldsmith College in London, the Hamburg Academy of Art and the Kassel Academy of Art. Since 2014 he holds lectures at the Royal College of Art London.

Group Shows

2021
Komisch Wetter, Kunstverein Schattendorf, Austria
„Toolbox“, internationales Ausstellungsprojekt von www.sspatz.org, Karlsruhe, Germany
Videocittà 2021 – Artist Presentation, Palazzo dei Congressi, Rome, Italy
2020
A PERFECT DAY, Westergas Fabriek Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Brexit: Mail Art from a Small Island, sipgate shows, Düsseldorf, Germany
Zwischen Nähe und Distanz. Von Goya bis Picasso. Graphische Sammlung, Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany
Bild und Blick – Sehen in der Moderne, Wilhelm Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
buchstäblich, Max Planck Institut für evolutionäre Anthropologie (Pongoland Zoo Leipzig), Leipzig, Germany
„Life is a problem“ kuratiert von Dave Hanger, Pi Artworks, London, UK
2018
Bild und Blick – Sehen in der Moderne, Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
Battaillon d’ Amour, Galerie Kleindienst, Leipzig, Germany
2017
NEBUKADNEZAR, Künstler machen Flaschen für Rottweil, Forum Kunst Rottweil, Rottweil, Germany
How to find true love and happiness in the present day, BIKINI Berlin
Drawing Biennial 2017, Drawing Room, London, UK
Germans and Russians, Ober Gallery Kent, CT, USA
2016
How to find true love and happiness in the present day, BIKINI Berlin
Arbeiten auf Papier, Galerie Rupert Pfab, Düsseldorf, Germany
Orbital Explorer, Kulturforum ALTE POST, Neuss, Germany
2015
In Schönheit Auferstehen, Galerie Patrick Ebensperger, Berlin
Salon Hansa, Kunstverein Famillie Montez, Frankfurt a.M., Germany
Tara has no room inside, curated by Rosana Puyol at Unit 1, London, UK
A man walks into a bar., Thomas Zipp. at me Collectors Room, Berlin
2014
A Union of Voices, At Horatio Jr., Rotherhite, London, UK
LU, Designpreis Rheinlandpfalz at Gutenberg Museum, Mainz, Germany
House of Voltaire, Studio Voltaire at 39 Albermarle Street, Mayfair, London, UK
Hands Project, Museion, Bozen, Italy
Equal goes it loose, news of the world, enclave4, Deptford, London, UK
Drei Stile Eine Blüte, Osram Höfe, Berlin
2013
Twilight Zone, Kunstverein Tiergarten, Galerie Nord, Turmstrasse 75, Berlin
9 Video Weekends, Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany
Not Book, “The international Plain Notebook Projekt”, Beit Ha’ir, Tel Aviv, Israel
Drawing Bienale 2013, Drawing room, London
Text und Bild, Kunstbunker Nuernberg, Forum fuer zeitgenoessische Kunst, Nuernberg, Germany
Wann kommt Immendorff, Kornhaeuschen, Webergasse am Schloss, Aschaffenburg, Germany
Lucky Weekend, invited by Anna K.E. at Simone Subal Gallery, New York City, USA
Books, at News of the world, Deptford, London, UK
2012
I love Aldi, Wilhelm Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
Painting Show, Eastside Projects, Birmingham, UK
2011
Der Menschenklee, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
On my Way, KVKM | Kunstverein Köln Mülheim e.V., Germany
Definite Gaze, NewBridge Space, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
2010
Linea,Line,Linie, eine Ausstellung des Instituts fuer Auslandsbeziehungen im Kunstmuseum Bonn
Seemed like a good idea at the time, OR Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Playboys and Killjoys, Ambach & Rice Gallery, Seattle, USA
Parallel Remix, Loenard Hutton Galleries, New York, USA
25+25, Kunstverein Wilhelmshoehe, Ettlingen, Germany
2009
Pamphile, Jet, Berlin
RANK, ‘Rank, picturing the social order, 1516 – 2009’ a longside historical and contemporary works. Leeds Art Gallery (14 February – 26 April 2009) to the Northern
Gallery for Contemporary Art (15 May – 11 July 2009) and the Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool (24July – 5 September 2009)
2008
THE GOLDEN RECORD, Collective Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
A Meeting Between The Tragic and The Funny, Middelheim Museum in Antwerp, at the Hessenhuis, Belgium
Vertrautes terrain, ” Streng verdaulich” , ZKM . Museum fuer Neue Kunst, Karlsruhe, Germany
Money, Kurator Dr. Reinhard Spieler ,Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen, Germany
The cave had been moved, Fundament foundation Tilburg (together with Marc Bijl), Netherlands
2007
Black Mountain, Hans Schulte und Markus Vater , Museum Baden, Solingen, Germany
frisch gestrichen, Franz Gertsch Museum, Switzerland
Markus Vater & The Mind/Body Problem Radiohole at East River Bar 97 South 6th Street Williamsburg, Brooklyn, USA
” ” ,montana berlin , Berlin
Artfutures, Bloombergspace, London, UK
2006
Sculpture Garden, Phoenix Garden, Stacey Street
Metropolis Rise: New Art from London, UK
Lantana Projects, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
made in germany _ Malerei der Gegenwart,  gip international fine art, Wolff._Burgdorf, Switzerland
Pleasuring the black sun, Zinger presents ,Tilburg , Netherlands
2005
Goethe Abwaerts, Deutsche Jungs etc, The Falckenberg Collection, Helsinki City Art Museum Meilahti, Helsinki, Finnland
Hydrophoebia II, Zinger presents ,Tilburg , Netherlands
On Demand, The Centre of Attention ,London, UK
SV05, Selected by Enrico David and Catherine Wood, Studio Voltaire, London
Wicked Game, Galerie Stalke, Copenhagen, Demnark
Section des Tableaux, at Maes&Matthes , Antwerp, Belgium
Positionen zur Malerei aus Deutschland, Leipzig – Düsseldorf, Galerie Gmyrek, Düsseldorf, Germany
Passionate fraud – romantic atmospheres and states of matter, curated by Ludwig Seyfarth, Hamburg, and Nina Koidl, Berlin, at the Art Frankfurt, Germany
2.Int Lückerinnerungstreffen, WBD, Berlin
Firewal, Würtembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart, Germany
Direct painting, Kunsthalle Mannhein, Mannheim, Germany
Villa Romana(new positions) , Kunstverein Willhelmhoehe, Ettlingen, Germany
Chaim Soutine,Tattooes, Happy Sailor, London, UK
2004
Year Zero, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art ,Sunderland ,England
Strike, including 100 Artists curated by Gavin Wade, at basekamp, Philadelphia , The exhibition is part of The big Nothing, initiated by Institut of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania
Firewall, Ausstellungshalle für Zeitgenoessiche Kunst Münster
tonight, curated by Paulo’Neill , with Brian Griffith, Dj Simson, Declan Clarke and others, Studio Voltaire, London
Mutanten, invited by Tatjana Doll, PS1 , New York
Malerei, Galerie Schoettle, Munich
Malerei IV, Johnen und Schoettle Galerie, Cologne
2003
Villa Romana 2003, together with Norbert Küppers, Geelke Gayken, Sven Ole Frahm, Salone Villa Romana, Florence, Italy
Hydrophobia, Henry Peacock Gallery, London, UK
The greatest show on earth, Camilla Wilson Hotel , Felixstowe, England
The theory of everything, Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris, France
2002
Die harten Realitaeten, with Sophie von Hellermann, Artagents , Hamburg
The New Old School, ibid Projects ,31 October – 15 December, Stasiulyte, Vilnius, Lithuania
The Gallery Show, Royal Academy , Piccadilly, London
hobbypopMuseum, Bonner Kunstverein, August Macke Platz, Bonn, Germany
Am Anfang der Bewegung stand ein Skandal, hosted by Lehnbachhaus München, München, Germany
Mapping the process, with Sigmar Polke, Dan Graham, Mike Kelly and others , Essor Gallery , 1 America Street, London, UK
The bold and the beautyful, Mile end Park, London, UK
Drawn out, London Print Studio, Harrow Road, London, UK
No Timewasters, Kent Institut for Art and Design, Rochester, UK
Modern Love, VTO, London, UK
2001
Black and White, with Damien Hirst, Dan Flavin, Andy Warhol,Bernd und Hilla Becher and others, Blains Fine Art, London, UK
Death to the fascist insect…, Anthony D’Offay Gallery, London, UK
fear it,do it anyway, Vilma Gold/ Arthur R.Rose –Galllery, London, UK
2000
Furore, hobbypopMuseum at Vilma Gold Gallery, London, UK
SANDY, at Art Agents, Hamburg, Germany
The armchair-project, Cinch, London, UK
Assembly, JubileeStreet, London, UK
on swedish ground, Konstmuseum Kristinehamn, Kristinehamn, Sweden
Paintings, Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, UK
[working-title],  Warmington Stanley Pricker Gallery, Kingston, UK
democracy, Royal College of Art ,London, in collorbaration with Cesare Pietroiusti
hobbypopMUSEUM , ANGEL ISLAND” NICC, Antwerp, Belgium
297 x 210, Arthouse Dublin, February, Dublin, Irland
1999
When we were young others went riding. We didn’t!, together with C. Breuer, Regionalmuseum Xanten, Germany
Live Marslandung, Videoinstallation, hobbypop MUSEUM Düsseldorf, Germany
know what I mean ?, Young german artists in Britain, Goethe-Instituit London
Spiel des Lebens, Hauptpost Düsseldorf, Germany
1998
hobbypop – terror, Glut, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Germany
Keep on Riding, volkstümliche Malerei, Forum Kunst, Rottweil, Germany
hobbypop publication, Niet de Kunstvlaai, Westergasfabrik, Amsterdam