Franz Ackermann’s interdisciplinary practice revolves around the themes of globalisation, urbanisation, and tourism. His works possess a dynamic structure that blends the physical texture of the spaces he experiences with the speed and complexity of the digital age. Through his Mental Maps series, which he has developed since the early stages of his career, the artist transforms the objective precision of traditional cartography into a personal mode of perception and interpretation, reconstructing urban reality through an intuitive visual language. Ackermann’s oeuvre represents a universe in which individual elements – including paintings, wall drawings, sculptures, photographs, and structures reminiscent of billboards – converge to form large-scale, chaotic installations. In his compositions, where colour and complex forms intertwine, the artist interrogates the relationship between the individual and space, as well as the feeling of ‘temporary belonging’ engendered by global circulation. His works invite viewers into an urban experience that is both familiar and unfamiliar, offering a profound reflection on the rapidly changing geographies and conditions of cultural nomadism in today’s world.
