MICHAEL SAILSTORFER

Michael Sailstorfer (*1979, Velden, Vils, Germany, lives and works in Berlin)  studied from 1999-2005 at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich, and received his MA in Fine Arts from Goldsmiths College, London in 2004. 

Sailstorfer reflects in his artistic practice on the fact that the fragile balance of our contemporary society – our social, political, ecological and cultural environment characterized by the finiteness of available resources – is subject to the constant threat of depleted energy sources. Both in a metaphorical and literal sense: Sailstorfer detaches various elements of the empirical world from the context of our everyday experience and presents them in formally precise sculptures as semantically redefined objects that question the principles of our contemporary culture. Driven by a fascination with biological and mechanical processes, Sailstorfer detaches natural, industrially produced, or found materials from their original context and transforms them into aesthetic settings that expand familiar questions about form and the nature of sculpture to include social, political, and economic aspects.

He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the world, including the recent exhibitions To the People, Pejman Foundation, Tehran; Batterie, Livie Gallery, Zurich; Elektrosex, Tick Tack, Antwerp; Clearing, Proyectos Monclova, Mexico City; Heavy Eyes Dubai, Carbon 12, Dubai; Heavy Eyes Seoul, König Seoul; Plumbum, Livie Gallery, Zurich; Heavy Eyes, Avlskarl Gallery, Copenhagen; Tear Show, Galerie Perrotin, New York City; Clouds and Tears, Proyectos Monclova, Mexico City; Hitzefrei, König Galerie, Berlin; Wiesen bei Nacht, Kunstverein Wiesen, Wiesen; Michael Sailstorfer, CentrePasquArt, Biel/Bienne; Breakwater, Loushy Art & Projects, Tel Aviv; It might as well be spring, Rochester Art Center, Rochester, MN, USA; Kopf und Körper, Museum Kurhaus Kleve – Ewald Mataré-Sammlung, Kleve; Forst, Vattenfall Contemporary, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin; Tornado, Public Art Fund New York, Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Central Park, New York City, amongst many others.

For inquiries, please contact us directly per email or phone:
Caspar Livie | caspar@liviegallery.com | +41 78 631 89 26

Image: installation view Michael Sailstorfer, Plumbum, Livie Gallery 2023. Photo: Esther Mathis.