PAINTER. STUTTGART. GERMANY
MORITZ BERG OPERATES AT THE POINT WHERE PERCEPTION PAUSES AND THE INSIGNIFICANT DETAIL BECOMES THE PROTAGONIST. HIS PRACTICE DOES NOT ILLUSTRATE NATURE, IT LISTENS TO IT. THE WIND DRAWS, WATER DRAGS, LIGHT RESTS ON THE EPHEMERAL. HIS CANVASES ARE TESTIMONY TO THAT NEGOTIATION BETWEEN THE DELEGATED GESTURE AND CONSCIOUS COMPOSITION. ABSTRACTION DOES NOT CONCEAL, IT REVEALS. THE EVERYDAY IS NOT IGNORED, IT IS INHABITED. STARRING @BERGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF CHRISTINA ROLLNY AND TIM SONNTAG
“Could you define your work? Where are your latest paintings heading? Tell us a little about your style.“
My work starts with things that are easy to miss. Traces left by wind, patterns emerging through patina, or a color that appears only for a few minutes at dusk. I’m interested in what remains from these encounters and how they can be translated into an abstract language.
The paintings can feel calm at first, but there is usually a lot happening within them. I think my work is more about looking — and about what happens when you give something more attention than you normally would.
“What do you do when an idea has been circling in your head for days and you don’t know how to carry it out?“
I usually let it stay in my head for a while. I think about it, change it, and sometimes discard it before I ever make a sketch. Once I feel an idea is ready, I start approaching it through sketches and studies. The final work often ends up quite different from the original idea.
“Is there any work of yours that is hard for you to look at because of what you remember about its process?“
Not really. My works are usually connected to a very specific place, moment, or observation, that’s why I see them almost like a visual diary. Even if I don’t like a painting anymore, I still enjoy looking back at it because it reminds me of where I was and what I was thinking about at that time.
“How does the disorder or order of your workspace influence you?“
I need my studio to be quite organised. If it gets too chaotic, I find it harder to concentrate on the small decisions in a painting. The cleaner the space, the easier it is for me to focus on what is actually happening in the work.
“What do you like more: creating in solitude or surrounded by people?”
p style=”font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;”>I mostly work alone, because there are so many small decisions happening while I paint. I’m constantly balancing how much I want to control and how much I want to let the process take over. Being alone makes it easier to listen to that.
“How do you decide when a work needs to rest before you continue working on it?“
I usually notice quite quickly when something isn’t working. I might then put a painting aside for weeks or even months. Sometimes I simply need some distance. When I come back to it, I can look at it more objectively and see what it needs.
“Is there any theme that you have avoided in your work out of respect?“
No. I don’t start with a fixed answer. The work usually begins with an observation or a question, and the visual answer develops while I’m working. I also don’t need to know where a painting will end up when I start.
“What sensation do you seek to leave in the person who looks at your work?”
I don’t really try to create one specific feeling. Everyone brings their own experience to a painting. Of course, I want the painting to work on its own through color, composition, contrast, and the physical presence of the surface. But ideally, it also makes someone slow down for a moment and look a little longer.
“How does your process change when you work with a material you are not familiar with?“
I actually like that uncertainty. Working with an unfamiliar material forces me to give up some control and start experimenting again. I’ve developed certain routines over the years, and they are useful, but they can also become too comfortable. A new material disrupts that and can take the work somewhere I wouldn’t have found otherwise.
“What makes you feel closest to your work?”
Interestingly, often time. There are paintings I made six years ago that I feel much closer to today than I did when I finished them. With some distance, I understand the work differently. Maybe that’s because I can see the original idea more clearly without being so caught up in the process of making it.
Moritz Berg (b. 1994, Stuttgart, Germany) is a contemporary German painter who lives and works in Stuttgart. He graduated in Architecture and Urbanism from the University of Stuttgart, a background that influences his artistic approach.
His work focuses on the perception and aesthetic effects of the natural environment, drawing inspiration from everyday and ephemeral moments to reveal hidden qualities in seemingly trivial scenes. Through abstraction, he seeks to build a bridge between humans and nature, merging their features into an aesthetic of harmonious coexistence. His practice includes abstract painting, photographic transfer onto canvas, and techniques that incorporate delegated gestures (such as drawings made by the wind or the movement of water).
He has participated in group exhibitions and art fairs, and has been an artist in residence at the Lab Studio of Escat Gallery in Menorca. His work has been presented in exhibitions such as “MATERIAL: A Hybrid Exhibition” (2025) and “The Sea Extinguishes the Sun” (2026).
Piece with Artist Magazine. october 2026 © www.piecewithartist.com
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