torben giehler

German - born 1973

Torben Giehler lives and works in Berlin, Germany. From 1995 to 1999, he was a student at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the New York Studio Program. After graduating, he moved to New York City, where he stayed until 2009. In 2000, Giehler had his first solo exhibition at the Leo Koenig Inc. gallery, which was followed by numerous exhibitions at galleries and museums around the world. In 2008, he was honoured with the Falkenrot Prize and an extensive solo exhibition at Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin.

Giehler’s trademark painting style revolves around abstract compositions of geometric shapes. He photographs his hand-drawn sketches and edits them digitally before creating large canvasses, often using vibrant colours. Giehler deconstructs cities and landscapes into grids that distil the three-dimensional depth and perspective into straight lines and coloured facets. That way, he manages to capture the impressions of mountains, streets, or buildings with just a few elements. Using many layers of transparent acrylic paint creates visual planes and spaces in which the eye can move around almost as it would in a virtual reality.

“Through my paintings I try to understand and process our increasingly complex but also exciting digital world. I am interested how we are moving between the real and virtual world. Painting helps me to stay in the real world.”  -  Torben Giehler