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ABOUT
Markus Tozzer, born in 1988 in Stockerau, Austria, is a visual artist living and working in Vienna. He is known for his intuitive approach and expressive, color-intensive works that combine a variety of media such as oil and acrylic paints, spray paint, and oil pastels.
Tozzer's artistic focus is on creating expressive and personal paintings and drawings that often humorously and authentically grapple with existential questions of life and death. Driven by inner conflicts and a restless engagement with themes such as spirituality, mysticism, and social criticism, his works frequently contain references and symbols related to these subjects. Stories from his own life, as well as spiritual experiences and dreams, are also reflected in his works. Tozzer is inspired by artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Francis Bacon, Art Brut, the Gugging Artists, and the European Expressionists. The raw honesty and emotional expressiveness he learned from his father's paintings, as well as the attitude and expressiveness of musical influences from punk, post-punk, blues, and jazz, which often accompany him while working, significantly shape his art.
His creative process often begins intuitively, capturing emotional states on canvas or paper, thus providing insights into hidden or unconscious aspects of the psyche—not only of the artist himself but also of the viewers. This aspect of introspection and revelation gives his works a philosophically valuable depth that can be both fascinating and disturbing to the audience. Early on, Tozzer adopted the approach that art must be unsettling, reflective, and sometimes uncomfortable.
The cathartic aspect is the driving force for him. Art is, for him, self-defense and a reaction to a dull, lifeless society. This gives his works their loud and expressive style. In 2011, as a student, he wrote in his notebook: "I paint out of deepest necessity, not because I chose to."
Over the years, his works have become noticeably more peaceful, poetic, and especially more elaborate. Tozzer's works have been exhibited not only at art fairs like the Parallel in Vienna but also in Berlin, Lithuania, Croatia, and Mexico.
EDUCATION
2011 – 2013 Fine Arts, Painting Class (at Johanna Kandl) - University of Applied Arts Vienna
2003 – 2008 Print and Mediatechnology - Höhere Graphische Bundes-Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt
SHOWS
Groupshow - WINTER WONDERLAND, Akademiegalerie, August 2024, Munich, Germany
Duoshow - (with Guido Sarti), INSALATA MYSTERIA, Atlas, März, 2024, Vienna, AUT
Soloshow - Fear and Loathing in Vienna, Studio Walls, September 2023, Vienna, AUT
Kunstmesse - PARALLEL VIENNA, September 2023, VIenna, AUT
Soloshow - Tozzer Paper Works, Studio Walls, November 2022, Vienna, AUT
Groupshow - Schmankerl & Gusterstückln, Kettenbrückengasse (OFF SPACE), November 2022, Vienna, AUT
Art Fair - PARALLEL VIENNA, September 2022, Vienna, AUT
Soloshow - Studio Landscapes, Studio Walls, May, 2021, Vienna, AUT
Groupshow - If you know what I mean/need, Spitzer, November 2021, Vienna, AUT
Groupshow - OPAK, KaH + Leerstand Gallery, November 2021, Vienna, AUT
Art Fair - PARALLEL VIENNA, September 2021, Vienna, AUT
Soloshow - Art Is My Life, Kunst ab Hinterhof, June 2021, Vienna, AUT
Groupshow - 20€ Flixbus, Glogauair/Dessous, June 2021, Vienna/Berlin, AUT/Germany
Soloshow(online) - A Change Is As Good As A Rest., LES NOUVEAUX RICHES, March 2021, Vienna, AUT
Art Fair - PARALLEL VIENNA, September 2020, Vienna, AUT
Duoshow - self curated with Barbara Moura, Studio Walls Vienna, August 2020, Vienna, AUT
Art Fair - NESVRSTANI Art Fair, June 2020, Zagreb, Croatia
Groupshow(online) - CoWir20, Kunst Ab Hinterhof, April 2020, Vienna, AUT
Art Auction - 13TH YOUNG ART AUCTION, Kunstraum Nestroyhof, October 2019, Vienna, AUT
Art Fair - PARALLEL VIENNA, September 2019, Vienna, AUT
Groupshow - The Point, Burggasse 21, June 2019, Vienna, AUT
Groupshow - NO OFFENSE BUT, Improper Walls, May 2019, Vienna, AUT
Art Fair - PARALLEL VIENNA, September 2018, Vienna, AUT
Groupshow - Bright Minds Dark Thoughts, Spitzer, September 2018, Vienna, AUT
Grouphshow - Spot The Dot Rebel Against Skin cancer, Improper Walls, June 2018, Vienna, AUT
Groupshow - Online SHOP Launch, Improper Walls, September 2017, Vienna, AUT
Groupshow - Personality Disorder, Improper Walls, May 2016, Vienna, AUT
Groupshow - Unwasted. Zero Food Waste Gallery, Improper Walls, November 2016, Vienna, AUT
Groupshow - Freewheelin´, Improper Walls, October 2016, Vienna, AUT
Groupshow - {im}proper Illustration, VDA Telšių Galerija, July 2016, Telšiai, Lithuania
Groupshow - NOMADIC, Junge Kunst-Gruppenaustellung, OHO, May 2016, Vienna, AUT
Groupshow - THERE ARE NO KANGAROOS IN AUSTRIA, Casa Nueve, July 2015, Puebla, Mexico
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