Exhibitions

2024

Cape Town Art Residency / Cape Town / South Africa / Solo Exhibition / 13.02.2024

»A Different Kind of Human«

A Different Kind of Human" was a solo exhibition by German artist Gabriel Holzner in February 2024. It marked the culmination of his three-month stay at the Cape Town Art Residency in South Africa. During this period, the artist aimed to rethink his process of art-making, experiment with new techniques, and allow the spacious studio environment as well as the city of Cape Town to influence his paintings.

The results include three large-scale canvases, a series of three montaged multi-frame paintings, as well as four works on wood panels, incorporating acrylic paint, oil sticks, pastels, and charcoal. All of the artworks are based on a rigorous daily drawing ritual. For more than 60 consecutive days, the artist began his early mornings with free and large-scale drawing sessions. Not only did this practice provide ideas and compositions for the works in the exhibition, but it also bridged the gap between initial sketches and the final painted results, a goal Gabriel has been working towards for some time.

The ritual resulted in hundreds of drawings, concepts, and studies on paper.In "A Different Kind of Human," GABRIEL HOLZNER still utilizes his sense of color and shape to convey his interpretation of the human experience but combines it with new and more expressive methods of mark-making.

2023

Live w/ Art / Munich / Germany / Solo Pop-Up Exhibition / 04.11.2023

»More Life«

Lissie Kieser and Gabriel Holzner share not only a long-standing friendship but also a history of collaborative projects in Munich. Among their joint ventures are works for a solo exhibition at Utopia and the art basketball court at Sugar Mountain. With the one-day pop-up exhibition "More Life," they presented Gabriel's art in a personal living room atmosphere.

The showcase featured a series of original paintings, created with acrylic paint on wooden panels, exploring the theme of 'Heimat' (homeland). Additionally, there was a collection of art prints and the artist's initial foray into the world of objects on display. The location for this event offers a "back to the roots" experience, as Lissie's living room temporarily transformed into a gallery for the day. This approach to exhibiting art by friendly artists will become a more frequent occurrence as part of their "Live w/ Art" project.

Some of the exhibited artworks are available here.

"Peace of Mind"
2023

"Up"
2023

"So wird's nie wieder sein"
2023

Arc Collect / Munich / Germany / Duo Exhibition with Max Freund / September & October 2023

»Press - Pause - Play«

Embark on a captivating artistic journey as 'Press - Pause - Play' invites you to explore the creative fusion of Max Freund and Gabriel Holzner in the windows of Arc Collect. Freshly settled in Vienna, Holzner's recent move sets the stage for an enriching collaboration with Freund, following his successful solo exhibition at Arc Collect in 2022. In this joint dual exhibition, the dynamic interplay of Freund's material-focused exploration and Holzner's precisely formed figures is the leading topic.

Following two clearly distinguishable artistic approaches, both artists offer colorful views of our daily life, drawing inspiration from bursting cities, mass media, and technological advancement. Apart from their personal memories and reflections on '90s and '00s culture, be it old Nintendo games, hip-hop music, European comics, or (recurring) subcultures, abstract figures and forms brought to life using different materials ironically depict today’s culture and society.

Some of the exhibited artworks are available here.

Pada Studios / Barreiro / Lisbon / Portugal / Residency & Group Exhibition / April 2023

»Pada 37«

Pada Studios is an art residency and gallery in Barreiro / Portugal founded by artists Diana Cerezino and Tim Ralston.

Nine artists at a time are enabled to work up to two months in the spacous studio near Lisbon, inspired by the unique post-industrial site. Gabriel had his residency in April and used his time mainly to experiment with tequniques and evolve into a more lose and free painting practice as well as getting into an exchange with his peers of Pada group 37.

The open approach and constant input and feedback of the group resulted in new paintings, paper-cut collages and large-scale freestyle oil stick works on canvas as well as freestyle murals.

The group of artists showcased their work by the end of april at Pada's own gallery and in their open studios. The final exhibition was curated by Tânia Geiroto Marcelino and featured new work by Yun Kim, Antonio Bokel, Alice Sheppard Fidler, Cecilia Sjoholm, Padraig Dennan, Petrina Wright, Carlos A. Mora, Stefanie Ferraz and Gabriel Holzner.

2022

Gallery Arc Collect / Munich / Germany / Solo Exhibition / 29.07.– 30.10.2022

»We had a hell of a run«

»We had a hell of a run« was Gabriel Holzner's second solo exhibition. Arc Collect, a unique Gallery space in Munich with a strong focus on contemporary tendencies in art as well as design, showed a mix of large-scale paintings on canvases and wood panels as well as an edition of screen prints. After a successful vernissage in July visitors were able to see Holzner's work by appointment or day and night through the gallery's fantastic arched windows for 2 months.

You can have a look at all »We had a hell of a run« artworks in the sold section.

»Gabriel Holzner communicates his ideas mostly through abstracted figurative scenes, precisely formed and digitally arranged and brought to life with acrylic paint on large-scale canvases or wood panels.

Despite his boldly simplified visual language, he addresses the complexity of the human experience. By bringing a sense of calm and structure to chaotic and noisy situations, he combines contradictory ideas into compelling compositions.«

2021

Flushing Meadows / Munich / Germany / Solo Window Exhibition / Presented by Dr. Martens / April 2020

»In this together«

“In this Together?” was an outdoor art exhibition by Gabriel Holzner, that celebrated local creative communities and resilience in the face of cultural crisis. Unsupported and isolated by the pandemic, artists and creatives have had to support each other during these challenging times.

Inspired by conversations with five of his favourite, fellow creatives from Munich, Gabriel created bespoke artworks that brought each of his collaborators’ stories to life.

2020

Gallery Utopia / Munich / Germany / Solo Exhibition / 29.07.2020 – 30.10.2020

»Utopia«

Utopia Munich opened its doors as a location for cultural events in June 2020. The historic building with its spacial architecture was a perfect match for art exhibitions, and Gabriel was asked to hold his first solo show there. The result was a lockdown inspired collection of graphic art – from a massive 5m painting and art prints to apparel and original pieces.

»In the implementation, I am currently concerned with a search for inner peace. I try to find it through clarity in the composition and the repetition of the manually built form quality. In the end, I hope that my sentiments during painting will also be felt by the viewer.«