Marten Kirbach (b. 1979) studied at the Hochschule für Bildende Kuenste in Dresden from 2000 to 2006 under Prof. Elke Hopfe and Prof. Ralf Kerbach. From 2006 to 2008, he was a master student of Prof. Ralf Kerbach. It was there that he developed an abstract visual language of impressive consistency, in which the objectivity of line and plane takes precedence over the painterly gesture.
Marten Kirbach is known for an abstract visual language that is striking in its consistency, one in which the objectivity of line and plane takes precedence over painterly gesture. Through geometries and color spectra meticulously calibrated in each individual work, the picture format becomes a testing ground, a kind of laboratory, where a distinctly articulated form emerges according to chance or inspiration and in accordance with seemingly strict rules.
Through geometries and colour spectra precisely calibrated in each individual image, the picture format becomes a testing ground, a kind of laboratory in which a distinctly articulated form emerges, depending on chance or inspiration and in accordance with seemingly strict rules of the game. Through a series of steps involving the division of space, layering and separation, colour modulation, the gentle linear dispersion of tones, overlays and semi-transparent coverings, a concrete pictorial narrative takes shape, bathed in soft neon light.
At times, these small-format paintings resemble precise, finely cut gemstones, each a perfectly balanced masterpiece in its own right. The works are characterised, on the one hand, by their love of variation and mutability, and on the other, by a simultaneous absolute rigour of form. It is from this contrast that Marten Kirbach’s painting derives its unique appeal.
