Maria Brunner

Born 1962 in Lienz, Austria
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

Maria Brunner is a contemporary artist best known for her hyperrealistic paintings. In her works, she stages found and digitally modified cut-outs, everyday objects, and draperies into enigmatic arrangements that she first photographs and then translates into painting. Through dramatic light-and-shadow contrasts, special pigments, and a precise, almost photographic technique, Brunner creates an atmosphere that oscillates between intimacy, theatricality, and abstraction. Her works have been exhibited internationally and are regarded today as an important position in contemporary Austrian painting.

In October 2025, Brunner’s solo presentation KATHEDRaLe took place at La Chapelle Saint-Louis de la Salpêtrière as part of OFFSCREEN Paris. She has held institutional solo exhibitions at Kunstverein Oldenburg, Kunst Forum Rottweil and Kunstverein Heilbronn, among others. The artist participated in group exhibitions at Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn; KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin; Tyrolean State Museum Ferdinandeum, Innsbruck; and Museum der Moderne Salzburg. She has been represented by Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne, since 1992.

Brunner’s works are included in the public collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Deutsche Bank Collection, Frankfurt; and Tyrolean State Museum Ferdinandeum, Innsbruck.