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Paul DeFlorian (AU/DE)

2025

Visual Arts

„My name is Paul DeFlorian and I am here to seduce you.“

Born, 1980, Linz, Austria lives and works in Vienna and Berlin

I paint because I am a dirty faggot. Painting is a dirty business. It is more or less distributing dirt (colour) on a surface (maybe a canvas) with a tool (or hands, feet, body).

Painting is about staying on the surface.
Painting is about manipulating the surface.
About being superficial.
It is about not going into the depth. In manipulating the recipients perception.
So it’s about tricking the eye.
Painting is about committing to flatness.

The quality of being level and without curved, high, or hollow parts.
The dictionary connects flatness to be straight (idiom) be (as) flat as a pancake
to be straight, even and level
the quality of being without depth
being plane
being straight
being a pancake maybe?
Painting is a messy business.

Not long ago mixing colours and especially the stripes, and its messy little sister the patterns, was considered morally dangerous. Typically that was considered to fall into categories like the tacky, the queer, the feminine, the oriental, the primitive, the infantile, the vulgar, the pathological. Or reduced to something superficial, frivolous and cosmetic making it alien and therefore dangerous.

education:
Higher Federal Institution for Graphic Education and Research, Vienna, Austria
Academy of fine Arts Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Ottoman Handcrafts, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey

Altruist - the perfume

Altruist: a scent for feminists, cyborgs and survivors. Collaboration with Véronique Nyberg who was challenged by Paul DeFlorian's imagination for this fragrance. This triggered a fruitful process of fragrance creation and evaluation. They met in Paris at the studio of MANE to work together on the composition.

Bright & Clean Freshness

Bergamot essence, Lemon essence, Aqualâ„¢, Ginger Pure Jungle Essenceâ„¢

Sensual & lmaginary bouquet

Rose Superessence, Orange blossom absolute, Nutmeg essence, Black Pepper Pure Jungle Essenceâ„¢

Dry & humid density

Cedar wood essence, Vetiver essence, Patchouli essence, Ambramoneâ„¢


Exhibitions:

2021

Solo
    â€¢    Can U Feel It?, Atelierhaus Köpenick, Berlin, Germany
2020
Duo
    â€¢    Broken Joint Venture Club With Katharina Master, VBKOE, Vienna Austria
    â€¢    Amore (with Vittorio Zambardi)
Solo
    â€¢    Flirting Under Pressure,Österreichisches Kulturforum Berlin, Berlin, Germany coming soon
2018

Solo
    â€¢    Hey honey! Salzamt Linz, Austria 
2017

Solo
    â€¢    Hey sexy! Berlin Germany
    â€¢    Hey baby! Vienna, Austria
2015
    â€¢    You Are Me and You Are Me Too, MUSA, Vienna, Austria
Group
    â€¢    Zwischen den Dünen, Galerie Frey, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
2014
Solo
    â€¢    Close to you, I 'm not, VBKOE, Vienna, Austria
Group
    â€¢    Volta/Scope/Art Basel Galerie Vernon, Basel, Switzerland
    â€¢    The Unwritten: Highlights in Emerging Painting, mo.ë, Vienna Austria
    â€¢    dirty rainbow drawing club, Ficken3000, Berlin, Germany

2013
Group
    â€¢    Vienna's Calling, Ambacher Contemporary, Munich, Germany
    â€¢    Faceless, Freiraum Museumsquartier, Vienna, Austria
    â€¢    post apocalyptic drawing club, VBKOE, Vienna, Austria
    â€¢    some roads to somewhere, BROTkunsthalle, Hilger Contemporary, Vienna, 
Austria
2012
Solo
    â€¢    Transhumance In The Alps, Schnifis, Vorarlberg, Austria
    â€¢    The Boywitch And The Wolf, Galerie Peithner Lichtenfels,

2008

Group
Dear Anus, Vereinigung bildender Künstlerinnen Österreichs, Wien
Die Zelle, Wien
"The Tower of Love", Akademie der bildenden Künste, Wien

2007
"Im Auto", Auto/Offspace, Wien

2006
"Eat me ... Intervention" Real Presence, Belgrad, Serbien


Other group exhibitions:

  • Der Nackte Mann, Lentos Kunstmusem, Linz, Austria

  • VollMilchBart, Lentos Kunstmusem, Linz, Austria

  • Brut: Beyond the outline, CACT Kanton Ticino, Switzerland

  • Wilder Raum, Kunstraum Niederösterreich, Vienna, Austria

  • Leaving Space, Galerie Vernon, Prague, Czech Republic


Prizes, grants, and more:

Ankauf in die Sammlung der Stadt Wien
Ankauf des Kupferstichkabinetts Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien
Ankauf Rotary Club Albertina Wien
Artist in Resident, C12, Raum für Kunst, Schnifis, Vorarlberg, 2012
Artist in Resident, Egon-Schiele Center, Krumau, Czech Republic, 2014

Artist in Resident, Wolfram Artist Residency Program, Seattle, U.S.A. 2014
Emerging Artists Award 2011 / Arbeitsstipendium des Bundesministeriums für Wissenschaft und Forschung (BMWF)
museum in progress / Der Standard

Preis Roter Teppich für Junge Kunst, Kunstpreis der Stadt Wien, 2011
Preis der Emanuel und Sofie Fohn Stiftung 2010
Marmara Triennale, Istanbul, Turkey 2010

City and Arts/ Istanbul Bienal 2009, Istanbul 2009
Grafik des Monats Oe1

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