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Michal Martychowiec, born 1987 in Lublin, Poland, is a contemporary conceptual artist. He studied at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London and graduated with distinction. Martychowiec’s works, mostly in larger series, cover almost all genres of artistic expression. Depending on the question and subject, he uses the medium of photography, writes, shoots and produces films, draws, designs neons, objects, outdoor sculptures and environments. A new project is the creation of avatars and other personas. The ideas for this come from the philosophy of the Orient and Occident, anthropology, art and cultural history, universal historical thought, history of religion, literature, archaeology as well as contemporary culture and communication analysis. In addition to his artistic activities, Martychowiec teaches as a guest lecturer at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. Michal Martychowiec currently lives in Berlin.
His exhibition “Winter kept us warm” at Migrant Bird Space in Berlin-Mitte is to see until 9 August 2019.
You live in Berlin. Since when – and is there something that you expect from Berlin especially as an artist?
I moved to Berlin at the end of 2011 and I have been here since, at least for the larger part of the year. I had no specific expectations of the city. It was more a result of me wanting to move out from London. That left me with several options, and after considering each, I settled for Berlin, which at that time seemed to have quite a good scene.
How do you assess the current development of the art market in Germany?
I am not sure I am in a position to answer this question. I try to, personally, stay away from the market as much as I can, leaving it to others to handle. If by market, you also want to consider the scene as a whole with its exhibition programme and critical discourse, then the art scene in Germany or Italy (in other words the continental art scene) is closer to me than that in the Anglo-Saxon countries. That is probably due to the fact my work is deeply positioned in European socio-cultural context, which has a very different historical background comparing to the, for instance, American one. It would not make sense to ask the same questions here and there.
You travel between Berlin and China. What are the main differences between these two countries especially regarding art, artists and the art market?
Well, of course there are differences but it is a big topic. And China is a big country.
Art is different everywhere. As I mentioned, I do not think it makes sense to ask the same questions in Europe and in America. But strangely, I find the kind of historical immediacy of Europe and China more alike than that of Europe and America. Then again, looking at things from the perspective of my historiosophical practice, there are differences. Most specifically the mater of …
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Image caption: Portrait Michal Martychowiec + Josephine © Martychowiec | Migrant Bird Space
