Markus Huemer. A Football Pitch Must Be Free from Trees

Press release

12.05.2026

Markus Huemer, Gelbgrüner Monster-Virus, 2021

Image Credits

Duration

14.05. - 30.08.2026

Opening

13.05.2026 7pm

Press event

12.05.2026 11am - 12pm

Place of the press event

Neue Galerie Graz

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In his paintings, Markus Huemer explores the intersection of perception and reality in the context of digital media, examining the interaction between image and reality. The exhibition features depictions of nature, including landscapes, plant still lifes, and flower paintings. All of the paintings are based on digital images that have been shared countless times on the internet and social media platforms, despite the artist never having seen the subjects in real life. Other motifs, such as the flower paintings in the exhibition, were 3D-scanned and digitally processed by Huemer.

The aesthetic power of these images of nature, combined with specific visual patterns and the viewer's habits, makes them completely convincing as representations of reality. Given this practice, which is integral to our globally networked information society, questions arise about the authenticity of the images we consume daily and the extent to which media-constructed levels of reality influence the production and appropriation of knowledge and nature. Last but not least, these works also explore the meaning and potential of painting beyond scientific or socio-critical exploitation.

The exhibition comprises approximately 80 paintings from the past 25 years, showcasing the primary bodies of work depicting nature by Markus Huemer. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue which presents this aspect of the artist's work in detail for the first time.

Images

Markus Huemer, Chartreuse Monster-Virus, 2021

Private collection, Photo: Markus Huemer © Bildrecht, Vienna 2026

Markus Huemer, Margarine im Sinne dieser Leitsätze ist Margarine im Sinne des Margarinengesetzes, 2023

Sammlung: Künstler © Bildrecht Wien, 2025

Markus Huemer Add-Ons in Strikingly Dark Red to Blackish Brown Colour, 2005

Private collection, Photo: Markus Huemer © Bildrecht, Vienna 2026

Markus Huemer Asia Is Larger Than the Moon in Terms of Area, 2024

Private collection, Photo: Markus Huemer © Bildrecht, Vienna 2026

Markus Huemer The Decision on the Decision of the Decision Is Hereby Decided, 2025

Collection Wemhöner Photo: Markus Huemer © Bildrecht, Vienna 2026

Markus Huemer, The Melon Wants to Be Alone in the Painting, 2020

Collection Leineman, Photo: Markus Huemer © Bildrecht, Vienna 2026

Markus Huemer, A Marriage Is Invalid If One of the Parties Was Unaware That This Was a Wedding Ceremony, 2024

Collection Wemhöner, Photo: Markus Huemer © Bildrecht, Vienna 2026

Markus Huemer, Elephants Are the Only Mammals That Cannot Jump, 2016

Markus Huemer, It Is Illegal to Give a Woman a Dishonourable Name, 2025

Markus Huemer, I Could Also Have Painted the Exact Location of My Wolf Sighting for You, 2023

Markus Huemer, Some Ghosts Show Exceptional Talent Early, While Others Develop Their Abilities Later, 2026

Markus Huemer Self-Pollinating Cookie Cruncher and Virus.exe, 2005

Markus Huemer, Sunsets on Mars Appear in a Shade of Blue, 2024

Publication is permitted exclusively in the context of announcements and reviews related tothe exhibition. Please avoid any cropping of the images. Thank you for crediting the photographs according to the enclosed indications.