Martin Eder : Undressed Rather Than Nude

Populated by naked young women and saccharine fluffy pets, Eder’s semi-surrealistic paintings exude an engaging perversity. His scenarios have a nightmarish feeling and explore the uneasy relationship between fantasy and reality. ‘My paintings are actually battle scenes,’ Eder has said. ‘They are filled with murder and they are incredibly bloodthirsty.’

The loaded sexuality of the girls in his paintings and the feeling of exploitation these inspire, come coupled with the painterly dexterity of their making. 

Eder paints from photographs that he has taken, which together with his deployment of technique and illusory devices positions his persona at the centre of the narratives. 

Brought up in Catholic Bavaria, he has spoken of a ‘fundamentalist form of dedication’ that drives the dark symbolism and fervour of his works. His women are painted in styles that variously recall Botticelli, Cranach, Renoir and Manet, yet his subjects are undressed rather than nude. 

‘I’m deliberately exposing myself to criticism that it is exploitation,’ the artist explains. ‘But on the other hand, isn’t arousal, if it’s present at all, a rebellion against death?’

Martin Eder was born in 1968 in Augsburg, Germany, and lives and works in Berlin.

All above Text taken from: Hauser & Wirth Gallery Website

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Further Reading: Wikipedia: Martin Eder