Johannes Wohnseifer (born 1967) is a German artist and painter based in Cologne.
Early life and education Wohnseifer was born in Cologne, Germany. He worked as an assistant to Martin Kippenberger from 1992 to 1997, during which time he began exhibiting internationally.
Work Wohnseifer often draws reference to the German history of his youth, such as the 1972 Summer Olympics and the Red Army Faction. For his 1999 solo exhibition Museum in the project room of the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, he covered the floor with panels painted in the colour scheme that designer Otl Aicher had developed for the 1972 Munich Olympics and presented sneaker prototypes he had designed for Adidas.
He creates smooth, glossy, billboard-like paintings. His installation Stacked Studio Lights (2010) consists of fluorescent lights programmed after recordings of the artist's sleep cycle, while the series Waking up in Paris (2010) presents postcards of the Eiffel Tower taken by German occupying soldiers during the Second World War. Wohnseifer has also published artist's books, including White Men (2009) with Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König.
Teaching In the winter semester of 2011/12, Wohnseifer was appointed professor of painting and sculpture at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM). As of 2026, he continues to hold the professorship.
Exhibitions Wohnseifer has exhibited in shows including Irresistible Impulse at Galerie Gisela Capitain in Cologne, Intervention at Sprengel Museum in Hanover, Hein, Schellberg, Wohnseifer at Schnittraum in Cologne. He has shown at the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, Union Gallery in London and Galerie Yvon Lambert in Paris.
Art market Wohnseifer is represented by Casey Kaplan in New York, Johann König in Berlin, Praz-Delavallade in Paris/Los Angeles and Nicolas Krupp in Basel.
Awards 1998: Peter Mertes Stipendium, Bonner Kunstverein 2000: Förderpreis der Stadt Köln 2001: Ars viva prize of the Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft
Collections (Selection) Museum of Modern Art. New York Christian Boros. Germany Museum Folkwang. Essen Museum Ludwig. Cologne Saatchi Collection. London Hauser & Wirth Collection. Zurich Julia Stoschek Collection. Düsseldorf Kunstmuseum Bonn
References
External links
Johannes Wohnseifer at Johann König Johannes Wohnseifer at Saatchi Gallery