Overview
Photo: Elfie Semotan
Sarah Ortmeyer, 'DIABOLUS (PROTECTOR)', 2020
Sarah Ortmeyer born 1980, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. 
Many of the themes in Ortmeyer’s work draw from her keen interest in — and uncanny understanding of — cultural, human, and political interrelations, whether contemporary or historic, highbrow or lowbrow, academic or punk. Years of working on her publications about chess have taken her on a world library tour de force (Mexico City, New York, Reykjavík, Paris) and have equipped her with a scientific rigor that is rare among contemporary artists. But rather than taking a purely analytical approach, Ortmeyer marries her scholarly inclinations with an inquisitive and sometimes biting naïveté, allowing her to effortlessly break down the most complex intricacies of the human psyche in what may otherwise seem benign or platitudinous contexts. And in all her ongoing quest to discover deeper universal truths, she never compromises her unapologetic passion for beauty … and for love. 
 
Ortmeyer’s solo exhibitions were shown in Kunstverein München, MoMA P.S.1. (New York City), 21er Haus (Vienna), S.M.A.K. (Ghent), KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin), among others. She was part of various group exhibitions, including in the Hamburger Bahnhof (Berlin), Kunsthalle Zürich (Zürich), Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art, Museum of Modern Art (Warsaw); Palais de Tokyo (Paris); MAK Center (Los Angeles), KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin), Stedelijk Museum Bureau (Amsterdam), Monnaie de Paris (Paris), Swiss Institute (New York). During her career, Ortmeyer won numerous awards and prizes, e.g.; the MAK-Schindler Scholarship (Los Angeles), Stiftung Kunstfond (Bonn, Germany). Her works are featured in the collections of the MoMA, (New York), Belvedere Museum (Vienna), S.M.A.K. (Ghent), Hamburger Bahnhof (Berlin) and FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais.
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