Heiner Meyer
03.09.2025 - 02.10.2025
Icons and Illusions
Galerie Barbara von Stechow
With "Icons and Illusions" we present an extensive selection of works by the highly renowned and internationally known artist Heiner Meyer. Heiner Meyer was born in Bielefeld in 1953. He opened his first solo exhibition in Münster at the age of 19. From 1973, he worked as Salvador Dalì's assistant in Port Liggat, Spain. From 1977 to 1983, he studied fine art at the Braunschweig University of Art and became a master student of Prof. Malte Sartorius in 1981. In the same year, he was awarded the Rudolf Wilke Prize of the City of Braunschweig, followed a year later by the Art Prize of the Lower Saxony Lottery Society and in 1995 by a grant from the Ministry of Culture of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. His training was followed by teaching positions at the HBK Braunschweig and the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences. In 2015, he was invited to participate in the first Venice Triennale. Heiner Meyer lives and works in his hometown of Bielefeld.
Meyer draws attention to the character of commodities as fetishes of modernity and status objects as well as art as a commodity by integrating omnipresent motifs and figures (Mickey Mouse, Pink Panther, Audrey Hepburn, Dita von Teese, etc.) into his paintings, combining them with one another and completely exaggerating them. This undermines the ontological qualities of these images. What at first glance is reminiscent of the motif world of Pop Art turns out to be a caricature of it, as he makes the characteristics of the painted image visible through his gestural traces. Meyer also works as a sculptor and uses luxury items and objects from the merchandising industry as models for his bronze sculptures. He does not even shy away from art history and his works include Roy Liechtenstein's Brushstroke, Andy Warhol's Brillo Boxes, Picasso's signature, Sigmar Polke's grids and even Dürer's hare.
In his painterly works, representationalism and non-representationalism lie orthographically directly next to and on top of each other. They are complemented by logos and lettering from advertising (Paramount, Hermes or Prada) as well as elements from comics and everyday objects. Meyer's repertoire of motifs seems unlimited and "bird-free" or free for the taking: Irony and wit characterize his compositions, whose supposed superficiality resembles an ethnographic inventory of postmodern visual memory and today's handling of images of all kinds. Heiner Meyer's works have been presented in more than 250 group and solo exhibitions worldwide.
His paintings and sculptures are represented internationally in numerous public and private collections, such as the Skulpturenhalle Basel, the Contemporary Art Museum in Miami, the Fundació Miró in Barcelona and the Sal. Oppenheim Collection in Cologne and Berlin. His works are particularly in demand on the American market. From the Hamptons to Miami and Los Angeles, his works have been exhibited in galleries and at art fairs such as Art Miami. His works have been included in the collection of fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, among others. In 2014, the large sculpture purchased by Hilfiger even graced the cover of Architectural Digest.
Galerie Barbara von Stechow
Feldbergstraße 28
60323 Frankfurt am Main
T. +49 69 72 22 44
E. mail@galerie-von-stechow.com