Berlin-based illustrator, artist and author Christoph Niemann (b. 1970) is a master of metaphor who can mould the complex and the multifaceted in impressively clear, elegant, poetic and humorous images, with reduced, often minimalist means. Be they quick sketches or elaborate illustrations and animations, every one of this great artist’s works is an instantly absorbing implementation of a brilliant idea. At the same time, rather than exclusively committing to any one technique or style, he constantly experiments and expands his repertoire of expressive means in all directions, be it with Lego bricks, potato stamps, painted-over photographs or computer animations. This sought-after illustrator’s clients include newspapers and magazines like “The New Yorker”, “Time”, “Wired” and “The New York Times Magazine”, but also institutions and firms, such as the Museum of Modern Art, Google and Herman Miller. He writes and illustrates his own books for adults, including “Abstract City” and “Sunday Sketching”, which originated from a blog, and also conceives digital applications like the successful apps “Petting Zoo” and most recently “Chomp”, which are geared towards a very young audience. The Cartoonmuseum Basel is honouring this multi-award-winning and inspiring artist with a solo exhibition, which will be his first in Switzerland and will comprise over 120 original drawings, prints, adapted photographs and animations.
Curator: Anette Gehrig