Biography
| EDUCATION | ||
| 2005-2009 | Meisterschüler | Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2004-2005 | BA (Hons) Fine Art | Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Mainz |
| ONE PERSON EXHIBITIONS | ||
| 2019 | Lovecraft Galerie | Bernhard Knaus, Frankfurt |
| 2018 | Paradise overdosed, Book release & 10 years Black Pop | Staufenstr. 42, Frankfurt |
| 2016 | ALLES WIRD GUT | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2015 | ...But the gods | Galerie Heike Strelow, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2015 | Acid on tea | Galerie Römerapotheke, Zurich |
| 2013 | Der faule Biss | Galerie Heike Strelow, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2013 | System of diplomatic Chaos | Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden |
| 2012 | Gesichtsverlust | Kunstverein Viernheim, Viernheim |
| 2012 | Troops would love to die | Kunstverein Heppenheim, Heppenheim |
| 2010 | Savee Couture | Velvet, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2010 | The last curs fight the bricks | Galerie Perpetuél, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2010 | Florian H., FFM | Moloko, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2010 | Love Kills Love | Commerzbank, Raum für Kultur, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2010 | Love Kills | Commerzbankplaza, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2009 | Living famous dreams | VIP Club, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2009 | Burn your past | Loftraum Goldman, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2009 | Still my own idol | PSM-Gallery, Berlin |
| 2009 | Florian Heinke | bKi, Darmstadt |
| 2009 | Apart from heaven | Galerie La Brique, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2008 | A fast way downstairs | Sammlung-Lenikus, Wien |
| 2008 | Paradise overdosed | Galerie Campagne Premiere, Berlin |
| 2008 | Pervers durchs Paradies | Kunstverein Familie Montez, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2007 | Alle guten Dinge sind sexy | Orban & Streu, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2007 | Youdas , Trilogy | 1st No return., Ausstellungshalle 1A, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2007 | 2nd No hide | Plagemann, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2007 | 3rd Cut past | Liebesdienste, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2007 | Heroes & Babes | Raum Scheidswald, Frankfurt am Main |
| SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS | ||
| 2019 | 10 Years | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2019 | Mexico / Alptraum | La estacion arte contemporáneo, Chihuahua |
| 2017 | In Memoriam Francesca Lowe | Old Truman Brewery, London |
| 2017 | Political Gestures | Galerie Heike Strelow, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2017 | Part I: Street Semiotics (curated by Zavier Ellis) | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2016 | Doppelgänger | Torrance Art Museum, Los Angeles |
| 2016 | Black Paintings (curated by Heike Strelow) | Galerie Heike Strelow, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2015 | Black Paintings (curated by Zavier Ellis) | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2015 | Heim@FSP | Galerie Römerapotheke, Zurich |
| 2015 | PageArt | Kunstraum Neureut e.V., Karlsruhe |
| 2015 | Bergwelten | Scharzwälder Skimuseum, Hinterzarten |
| 2015 | This will not be here tomorrow | Galerie Heike Strelow, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2015 | Alptraum | Visual Choice Gallery, Montreal |
| 2015 | Goa/Alptraum | Salon de Lirio, Salcete |
| 2014 | Saatchi’s New Sensations and THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis, Simon Rumley & Rebecca Wilson) | B1, Victoria House, London |
| 2014 | Cultus Deorum (curated by Zavier Ellis) | Saatchi Gallery, London |
| 2014 | The Great War (curated by Zavier Ellis) | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2014 | Alptraum | UGM Maribor Art Gallery Slovenia, Maribor |
| 2014 | Wurzeln weit mehr Aufmerksamkeit widmen | Kunstwerk Köln e.V., Cologne |
| 2013 | Das morph. Feld muss neu beackert werden | Rumbalotte Labor Politikon, Berlin |
| 2013 | Nevermind the Bollocks (curated by Alexander Hattwig) | JR Gallery, Berlin |
| 2013 | Pophits und Alptraum | Artspace Rhein-Main, Offenbach am Main |
| 2013 | Obscura | Villa Renata, Galerie Römerapotheke, Basel |
| 2013 | Wurzeln weit mehr Aufmerksamkeit widmen | Polarraum Hamburg, Hamburg |
| 2013 | Wurzeln weit mehr Aufmerksamkeit widmen | Bauhaus University, Weimar |
| 2013 | Wurzeln weit mehr Aufmerksamkeit widmen | Museum Lytke, Leipzig |
| 2013 | Painting of today! | Artspace Rhein-Main/Halle für zeitgenössische Kunst, Offenbach am Main |
| 2013 | Wurzeln weit mehr Aufmerksamkeit widmen | Shift e.V., Berlin |
| 2012 | Vom Walde | Skimuseum, Hinterzarten |
| 2012 | Alptraum The Nightmare never ends | X Project Space, Berlin |
| 2012 | Bang! Bang! Tatort Kunst | Haus für Kunst Uri, Altdorf |
| 2012 | Alptraum | Green Papaya Art Projects, Manila, Quezon City |
| 2012 | Six Flags - Trouble in Paradise | Beta Pictoris Gallery, Birmingham, Alabama |
| 2012 | Kein Gott und seine Kinder | Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden |
| 2012 | Alptraum | Goethe Institute Johannesburg, Johannesburg |
| 2012 | Kampfkunst oder die Schule des Sehens | Galerie Römerapotheke, Zurich |
| 2011 | Fragile Helden | Kunstverein Familie Montez, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2011 | Alptraum | Cell Project Space, London |
| 2011 | A Beer to spill them into Dust | Waikato Museum, Intraspace Project |
| 2011 | Alptraum | Projektraum Deutscher Künstlerbund, Berlin |
| 2011 | Schwarzer September | CWO Atelierfrankfurt II, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2011 | Alptraum | The Company Gallery, Los Angeles |
| 2011 | Is this (a) painting? | Beta Pictoris Gallery, Raum 2, Birmingham, Alabama |
| 2011 | 100 Million Angels Singing... | Jens Fehring Gallery, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2011 | 3 Zaehne | Apartment Draschan, Vienna |
| 2011 | Verbrechen und Bild, Künstlerverein Walkmühle Wiesbaden | Städtische Galerie Villingen-Schwenningen |
| 2011 | When Poets die | Galerie Anita Beckers, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2011 | Pop Hits | Tanzschuleprojects, Munich |
| 2011 | Saluting the end | JAUS Projects, Los Angeles |
| 2011 | Limits and desperate | Gail SCHOENTAG Gallery, Sag Harbor, New York |
| 2011 | Alptraum | Blanck Projects, Capetown |
| 2010 | The Last Curs Fight The Bricks | Galerie Perpetuél, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2010 | Alptraum | The Transformer, Washington D.C. |
| 2010 | Setzen!5! | Galerie Wolfstädter, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2010 | Nobel geht die Welt zu Grunde | Atelierfrankfurt, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2010 | Objects in the Mirror are closer than they appear | Ringstube, Mainz |
| 2010 | Home - EAST/WEST Project | Dam Stuhlgarter Gallery Brooklyn, Berlin |
| 2010 | Nobel geht die Welt zu Grunde | Atelierfrankfurt, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2010 | Setzen! 5! | Galerie Wolfstädter, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2009 | Product Without Rivals | Lebensraum Architecture Designed, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2009 | Die Dinge des Lebens | Galerie P13, Heidelberg |
| 2009 | Still my own Idol | PSM Gallery, Berlin |
| 2009 | Lob der Kritik. Ihre Meinung ist uns wichtig | Galerie Frühsorge, Berlin |
| 2009 | Viel vor, viel dahinter (2 Jahre Artsite.tv) | Kunstverein, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2009 | Dude, where's my career? | Absolventenausstellung Städelschule / Portikus / Zollamt MMK , Frankfurt am Main |
| 2008 | Black Power vs. White Power | Coney Island, New York |
| 2008 | A Fast Way Downstairs | Collection Lenikus, Vienna |
| 2008 | Stumbling Block For The Love | Römerberg (Steady Installation), Frankfurt am Main |
| 2008 | Paradise Overdosed | Campagne Premiere, Berlin |
| 2008 | Pervers durchs Paradies | Kunstverein Familie Montez, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2008 | Dirty Storm | Raum SOD, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2008 | Simple exploding men | Artnews Projects, Berlin |
| 2007 | Alle Guten Dinge Sind Sexy | Orban und Streu, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2007 | Signing the Shit | Lovesuite, Casablanca on the Ocean, Miami |
| 2007 | Lachende Zeugen | Raum Acapulco, Düsseldorf |
| 2007 | It takes something to make something - Die Sammlung Rausch | Portikus, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2006 | You can´t smile without changing the landscape | Georg Scholz Haus Kunstforum, Waldkirch |
| 2006 | Leidenschaft mich | Landungsbrücken, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2005 | Wetterbericht | Städtisches Museum Buchschlag, Reutlingen |
| 2005 | Verbrannt durch Hollywood | Timberlandshow, Mannheim, Berlin, Düsseldorf |
| 2005 | Leidenschaft Mich | Landungsbrücken, Frankfurt am Main |
| 2005 | Wetterbericht | Staedtisches Museum, Reutlingen |
| 2005 | Aussenstellen stellen aus | Unterer Hardthof, Giessen |
| AWARDS & RESIDENCIES | ||
| 2011 | Artist in residency, Kulturamt, Frankfurt am Main | |
| 2010 | Foundation of Publisher Dirty Lovers Books | |
| 2009 | Scholarship, Frankfurter Künstlerhilfe | |
| 2008 | Stumbling Block, Roemerberg, Frankfurt am Main | |
| 2008 | Sammlung-Lenikus, Wien | |
| PUBLICATIONS | ||
| 2012 | Heinke Myth & Truth | Undseld Verlag KG |
| COLLECTIONS | ||
| Hugo & Carla Brown, Den Haag | ||
| DiethARdT Collection, Graz | ||
| Stanley Hollander, Los Angeles | ||
| Michael & Susan Hort, New York | ||
| Lenikus Collection, Vienna | ||
| Thomas Pitrowksi Rönitz Collection, Celle | ||
| Sutter Collection | ||
| Private collections in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom & United States | ||
Press Release | Paradise Overdosed: Exodus | 2023
| Florian Heinke | Paradise Overdosed: Exodus |
| CHARLIE SMITH LONDON @ OHSH Projects |
| PREVIEW: Wednesday 15 February 6:00-8:30pm | RSVP | Please email direct@charliesmithlondon.com to book |
| EXHIBITION DATES: Thursday 16 February 2023 11:00am-6:00pm |
| ADDRESS: OHSH Projects, 106 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1HB |
| CHARLIE SMITH LONDON is delighted to present a much-anticipated Florian Heinke solo exhibition at OHSH Projects, New Oxford Street, central London. Heinke is known for his darkly mythological paintings that are rendered only in black oil paint. His unique position is one of an outsider, who critiques society and longs for a better reality. Heinke presents familiar worlds in which the relationships of their inhabitants, emotional conflicts, trauma and hope are paramount. His aesthetics are based on the beauty ideals of our time, but are charged with explosive content that can be provocative, comforting, aggressive, seductive or disturbing. As Heinke states: “My paintings were always a straight critique of systems and society. And it still is. They broach the issue of feelings, problems, reasons and circumstances behind social and economic concerns. I think the only decent and sustainable way to criticise something is to plant bombs right in the heart of it.” Indeed, Heinke approaches life and art with a sense of urgency, but also yearning. He moves away from a broken past and towards an unknown future. This notion of movement characterises his current work, where witches, hybrids, wise animals and demons join together to seek refuge. His subjects are empowered, often depicting women amongst familiars who demonstrate authority and autonomy. Heinke’s archetypes operate, therefore, as both personal and political ciphers. Suitably, the exhibition will take place for one night and one day only. It is fleeting, and urgent. Florian Heinke graduated from the Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main in 2009. He has exhibited globally including Saatchi Gallery, London; Torrance Art Museum, Los Angeles; Galerie Römerapotheke, Zurich; Goethe Institute, Johannesburg; & Kunstverein, Frankfurt am Main. His work is placed in prominent private collections including Hugo & Carla Brown, Den Haag; Stanley Hollander, Los Angeles; and Susan & Michael Hort, New York. The event will take place at OHSH Projects, 106 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1HB, Wednesday 15 – Thursday 16 February 2023. For further information please contact direct@charliesmithlondon.com. Follow us @CHARLIESMITHIdn. Please contact gallery for images and further information |
Press Release | 10 Years | 2019
| 10 Years |
| Dale Adcock, Emma Bennett, Kiera Bennett, Sara Berman, Jelena Bulajić, Tom Butler, Paul Chiappe, Adam Dix, Susannah Douglas, Tessa Farmer, Tom Gallant, Florian Heinke, Sam Jackson, Simon Keenleyside, Thomas Langley, Wendy Mayer, Hugh Mendes, Sean Molloy, Alex Gene Morrison, Tamsin Morse, Gavin Nolan, Dominic Shepherd, Carolein Smit, Barry Thompson, Gavin Tremlett |
| PRIVATE VIEW: Thursday 11 July 6.30-8.30pm |
| EXHIBITION DATES: Friday 12 July – Saturday 10 August 2019 |
| GALLERY HOURS: Wednesday-Saturday 11am-6pm or by appointment |
| CHARLIE SMITH LONDON is delighted to announce ’10 Years’, our anniversary exhibition produced to celebrate a full decade’s operations in Shoreditch. During this time we have presented 88 exhibitions within the gallery, defining CHARLIE SMITH LONDON and gallery director Zavier Ellis’ unique curatorial vision. The gallery has also established itself as a discovery zone by being the first to exhibit many acclaimed young artists via its annual graduate exhibition Young Gods. Beyond the gallery walls, the gallery has participated in over 30 art fairs in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, UK and USA. Zavier Ellis also launched the monumental annual exhibition THE FUTURE CAN WAIT with Simon Rumley, a ten-year project that was presented in partnership with Saatchi’s New Sensations for four years and culminated in helping organise the seminal fund-raising exhibition In Memoriam Francesca Lowe. Ellis has also curated or co-curated gallery, museum and pop up exhibitions in Berlin, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Klaipėda, London, Los Angeles, Naples and Rome. And, perhaps most notably, the gallery has placed millions of pounds worth of artwork into collections globally, working with many of the most prominent international collectors, and enabling artists to continue to do what artists do best: making work. This exhibition consists of some (but by no means all) of Ellis’ favourite artists who have shown over the years at CHARLIE SMITH LONDON; some whom he has been tracking and wanting to show; and gallery artists. We hope you can join us on July 11th to help us celebrate 10 Years! Please contact gallery for images and further information. |
Press Release | Context: Gallery Artists & Collaborators | 2018
| Context: Gallery Artists & Collaborators |
| Peter Ashton Jones, Emma Bennett, Kiera Bennett, Tom Butler, Dan Coombs, Florian Heinke, Sam Jackson, Reece Jones, Kate Lyddon, Eric Manigaud, Wendy Mayer, Hugh Mendes, Alex Gene Morrison, Gavin Nolan, Dominic Shepherd, John Stark, Geraldine Swayne, Barry Thompson, Gavin Tremlett |
| EXHIBITION DATES Friday 23 February – Saturday 31 March 2018 |
| In our first exhibition of the year, CHARLIE SMITH LONDON is pleased to offer a unique opportunity to view our gallery artists and key collaborators in context. Gallery Director Zavier Ellis states: “In some ways a gallery artists show is a pretty dull and unimaginative thing to do. But, on the upside it enables our audience to digest our stable in context. We are mostly a painter’s gallery, albeit with a curatorial emphasis that embraces every medium when appropriate. The artists we exhibit are technical, but this is nowhere near enough in itself. You will find that each one of them makes work with an intense emotional, philosophical or psychological charge, and so their work operates in a challenging, profound way. These artists are lateral thinkers who know that the trajectory of history is not as linear as is often presented, and that everything operates in a complex, non-hierarchical, interconnected way. Embracing doctrines and tendencies from the modern and postmodern periods, as well as near and deep history, they conduct their investigation without irony or sentimentality, but rather with positive affirmation, intelligence and deliberation. Added to the gallery artists in this show, we have invited others with whom we collaborate regularly, who work in paint, pencil, charcoal and installation. So in actual fact, a potentially dull and unimaginative idea becomes an intriguing and engaging proposition. This is not for everyone, but those that get it will be rewarded for their conviction.” |
Press Release | 2016
| Florian Heinke | ALLES WIRD GUT |
| Friday 9 September - Saturday 8 October 2016 |
| Frankfurt enfant terrible Florian Heinke presents his first London solo exhibition in Shoreditch with CHARLIE SMITH LONDON. CHARLIE SMITH LONDON is delighted to present Florian Heinke with his first solo exhibition in London. Heinke is known for his paintings that alternate between political polemics and transcendental beauty. Combining text and image only in black acrylic on unprimed canvas, Heinke’s methods are unique and highly impactful. Schooled initially on the streets of Frankfurt, Heinke discovered studio painting after being arrested for graffiti writing: “Once I got arrested and they put me into a programme in a workshop. They offered me an alternative punishment: to work in their painting studio. I did my first canvas there with brushes and colour. Graffiti was just the valve to show my rage, incomprehension and sadness.” Heinke went on to study at Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz before untertaking his Masters at the renowned Städelschule. Since then he has gone on to become one of Germany’s most vibrant young painters, exhibiting globally and being placed in prominent private collections, including that of Michael & Susan Hort in New York. Despite retiring his spray cans at an early stage, elements of street semiotics continue to endure. The use of text in both German and English; an absorption of advertising techniques; and a clash of imagery derived from various sources coalesce to reference high, low and mass culture. ‘ALLES WIRD GUT’ – translated as ‘Everything will be fine’ – will present a typically Heinkian worldview. Smattered with irony, poetry, longing, derision, optimism and fury, the exhibition will embody Heinke’s ongoing notion of ‘Paradise Overdosed’, traversing contemporary and modern politics; celebrity; glamour; greed; beauty and decay. Please contact gallery for images and further information |