Max Leiß

The starting point for the multi-layered sculptures and architectural works and photographs by Max Leiß (* 1982) are mostly found objects of everyday life as well as the surprising, sometimes strange volumes that are brought about by the daily design of outdoor spaces. The artist, acting in Basel, develops from about modular structures that can be differently combined and extended and associative echoes the forms of functional elements in the outdoor space. The parallel realized casts, sculptures and analog black-and-white photographs give Leiß ‘precise gaze with which he tracks down his environment to then specifically creatively influence the found and to lead it from Everyday-acquaintance into something novel.

Max Leiß embarks with his work on the search – the search for found objects of everyday life and their surprising- sometimes strange volumes, which produces the daily design of outdoor spaces. The starting point for the artist developed architectural structures is the idea of ​​modular structures that can be differently combined and extended and associative echoes the forms of functional structures in the outdoor space. Also developed by him casts and sculptures are often based on found objects from everyday life, acting in the Leiß targeted creatively and leads them from something Everyday-acquaintance into something novel. In his (mostly) black and white, analogue resulting photographs, which draws the artist himself by hand and looks in conjunction with its architectural structures, casts or sculptures give his precise, tracking look at their immediate surroundings again.

There may be places where he lives, like Basel or Paris, or where he has stayed longer, like the city of Marseille. That, as evidenced in the photographs seems, sometimes arranged or even designed and are accurate but just reflect what actually exists and is re-seen in the selection, the clipping, but also the question of the format.

Temporality is an important parameter for Max Leiß. His sculptural structures show – created by artist only recently – traces of the production process and the subsequent handling of the sculpture. Furthermore, they have a soft patina. So one takes them from the possibility of having a functionality; sometimes there are real finds like boxes, cubes, frames, etc., which the artist connects for his sculptural objects or give him ideas for further shape issues. Max Leiß builds everyday life and its structures not after, not mimicking the findings; Rather, he sharpens the view for volumes, attendances, neighborhoods and compilations that we encounter on a daily basis and in their curiosity precisely also special features, so poetic moments are even to be found.