David Ostrowski German, b. 1981
Overview
Ostrowski's eclectic work is characterized by its sense of Post-Minimalist apathy, wherein his canvases are sparsely decorated with haphazard marks, challenging the viewer’s assumptions of what a finished painting is. His compositions are constructed through non-traditional materials and techniques, including aerosol spray-paint or dirt from the studio floor, and regularly borrows techniques from other painting movements, such as the gesture of Abstract Expressionism or the restraint of Minimalism. “Ideas are completely overrated!” he once declared playfully. “I try to get to Ground Zero—to start at the beginning. Knowledge can be annoying and has to be suppressed sometimes.” Born in 1981 in Cologne, Germany, he went on to study under the influential painter Albert Oehlen at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 2009, skyrocketing to commercial and art world acclaim thereafter. Since 2022 he is a professor for painting at the Academy of Arts in Karlsruhe. Ostrowski's work has been shown across Europe as well as in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing. His work has been collected by prestigious public and private collections worldwide. His solo exhibitions include those held at Galerie Eva Presenhuber in Zürich, Peres Project in Berlin, the ICA in London, and Ltd. in Los Angeles.
Works
