Martin Kobe
Value#99
Egon Investment Scores
Liquidity
4/10
How easily works can be bought and sold at auction
Institutional
7/10
Museum collections, biennials, and institutional recognition
Momentum
4/10
Recent price trends, gallery moves, and market buzz
Discovery
2/10
Undervaluation opportunity relative to peer artists
Risk
3/10
Investment risk factors — higher means more volatile
Market Position
- Pricing
- Historical Ranges
- Recent 2020 2023
- Pricing not publicly disclosed for most recent sales
- Mid Period 2010 2020
- $10,000-$50,000 estimated for medium-scale works
- Peak Period 2006 2010
- $50,000-$205,000 for major works
- Scale Distinctions
- Prints
- Screenprints and multiples (low thousands)
- Large Works
- Monumental canvases (200cm+) commanded highest prices during peak
- Small Works
- Works under 100cm, including works on paper and small panels
- Medium Works
- Standard gallery-scale paintings (100-180cm)
- Current Market Note
- Contact Galerie Jochen Hempel (Leipzig/Berlin) for current primary market pricing. Secondary market shows limited recent activity with prices not disclosed, indicating gallery-controlled market.
- Liquidity
- Score
- 4
- Explanation
- Moderate liquidity. Works appear at auction sporadically (2-4 lots annually in recent years). Peak liquidity was 2006-2010 with more frequent sales. Current market shows thin secondary activity, suggesting most sales occur through primary gallery channels.
- Market Depth
- Limited - approximately 32-35 total auction records since 2000
- Geographic Concentration
- Sales primarily in European houses (Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips) and German regional auctions
- Collector Base
- Collecting Pattern
- Strong early interest from major contemporary collectors (Rubell Family) who championed the New Leipzig School movement in the mid-2000s
- Institutional Collectors
- Rubell Family Collection, Miami (major holdings)Cleveland Museum of ArtMuseum der bildenden Künste (MdbK) LeipzigSmithsonian InstitutionOvitz Family Collection
- Primary Market
- Locations
- LeipzigBerlin
- Current Gallery
- Galerie Jochen Hempel
- Recent Solo Show
- Year
- 2023
- Venue
- Galerie Jochen Hempel, Leipzig
- Auction History
- Lots Sold
- 20+ successful sales (askART database)
- Total Lots
- 32-35 auction lots recorded across major databases
- Market Peak
- 2006-2010 during New Leipzig School international surge
- Recent Sales
Work Auction House Sale Date Untitled, 2018 Artnet listing November 30, 2023 Untitled, 2004 Artnet listing December 8, 2022 Untitled, 2000 Artnet listing December 9, 2021 Untitled, 2000 Artnet listing October 14, 2021 Untitled, 2018 (60 x 50cm, acrylic on wood) Van Ham Kunstauktionen November 27, 2020 Untitled, 2008 — November 27, 2019 Untitled, 2003 — November 29, 2019 Untitled, 2009 — May 29, 2019 - Auction Record
- Date
- March 31, 2008
- Note
- Auction record set during peak of New Leipzig School market
- Work
- Rudera, 2006
- Amount
- $205,000 USD
- Medium
- Acrylic on canvas
- Dimensions
- 110 1/4 x 177 1/4 in. (280 x 450.2 cm)
- Auction House
- Phillips New York, Chelsea
- Price Range Historical
- $250 USD to $205,000 USD (2006-2023)
- Market Activity Frequency
- Moderate - approximately 2-4 lots per year in recent years, down from peak of 2000s
- Market Position
- Segment
- New Leipzig School secondary tier
- Peer Comparison
- Below market leaders Neo Rauch (multi-million dollar results) and David Schnell, but comparable to Tim Eitel and Christoph Ruckhäberle in the second tier of the movement
- Collector Profile
- Primarily European collectors; early American institutional interest (Rubell Family Collection) but limited sustained US market penetration
- Investment Outlook
- Risks
- Limited liquidity, market dependent on continued interest in New Leipzig School, peak prices unlikely to be repeated without major museum retrospective
- Trajectory
- Stabilized after peak. Market matured from speculative 2000s surge to more established mid-career pricing.
- Opportunities
- Undervalued relative to institutional validation (Rubell Collection, Cleveland Museum). Quality works may represent value for collectors of German contemporary painting.
Institutional Presence
- Exhibitions
- Solo Exhibitions
Title Year Venue Location — 2023 Galerie Jochen Hempel Leipzig — 2017 Galerie Jochen Hempel Berlin Martin Kobe – Syntax 2016 Neue Galerie Gladbeck Gladbeck, Germany Martin Kobe – Perisphere – New Paintings 2013 Pippy Houldsworth Gallery (Main Gallery) London — 2012 Pippy Houldsworth Gallery London dystown 2012 Brand New Gallery Milan Abstract Confusion 2012 Brand New Gallery Milan SCHWARZE RISSE WEISSER QUADER 2009 Galerie Christian Ehrentraut Berlin Behind True Symmetry 2007 White Cube Hoxton Square London The centre cannot hold 2007 Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden — 2005 White Cube London — 2004 Galerie LIGA Berlin — 2003 Kunstverein Leipzig Leipzig Malerei 2003 Galerie LIGA Berlin Martin Kobe - Malerei 2002 Galerie Dogenhaus Leipzig - Major Group Exhibitions
Title Year Venue Location Life After Death: New Leipzig Paintings from the Rubell Family Collection — — — Elective Affinities – German Art Since the Late 1960s 2016 Latvian National Museum of Arts Riga Collection Platform 4: Emotion and Technology 2013 PinchukArtCentre, Office 510 Kiev, Ukraine Cold Hearts – Artists from Leipzig 2006 ARARIO Gallery — Tilo Baumgaertel / Martin Kobe 2006 SAFN Reykjavik, Iceland New German Painting – The Leipzig and Dresden 'Schools' 2005 2nd Prague Biennale (Flash Art) — From Leipzig. Works from the Ovitz Family Collection 2004 The Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland Fehlfarben. Neue Malerei aus München, Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin 2004 Gemäldegalerie Neue Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden — Clara Park – Contemporary Painting from Leipzig 2004 Marianne Boesky Gallery New York East International 2004 Norwich Gallery, Norwich School of Art and Design Norwich, UK 7 x Malerei 2003 Museum für Bildende Künste Leipzig Painting Show 2003 Anthony Wilkinson Gallery London Wild Strawberries and Favourite Haunts 2003 Suite 106 New York
- Museum Collections
Location Exhibition Museum Miami, Florida, USA — Rubell Family Collection (now Rubell Museum) Washington, DC, USA — Smithsonian Institution Cleveland, Ohio, USA Museum Selections, April-August 2004 Cleveland Museum of Art Leipzig, Germany — Museum der bildenden Künste (MdbK) Leipzig Zagreb, Croatia The Leipzig Connection, 2019 Museum HDLU Zwolle, Netherlands CRUX, 2020 (work featured on catalogue cover) Museum de Fundatie Florida, USA — Vero Beach Museum of Art - Institutional Validation Explanation
- Strong institutional presence including major private collection (Rubell), regional museum (Cleveland), and significant exhibition history at respected venues. However, lacks representation in top-tier international museums (MoMA, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou). Primary validation came through the 2004-2006 Rubell Collection touring exhibition.
Career & Biography
- Career
- Education
Years Mentor 1995-2000 Prof. Arno Rink 2000-2003 Prof. Arno Rink - Career Stage
- Mid-career (active since early 2000s)
- Career Timeline
- Member of the New Leipzig School movement that gained international attention in the 2000s. Peak market activity 2004-2010, continued gallery representation through 2023.
- Studio Location
- Lives and works in Leipzig, Germany
- Professional Roles
- paintervisual artist
- Identity
- Note
- Getty ULAN biography indicates birth year as 1971, but multiple art market sources confirm 1973
- Gender
- male
- Full Name
- Martin Kobe
- Birth Year
- 1973
- Birth Place
- Dresden, Germany
- Nationality
- German
- Getty Ulan Id
- 500122848
- Alternative Names
- Kobe, Martin
- Artistic Context
- Movement
- New Leipzig School
- Generation
- Second generation Leipzig School painter, trained under Arno Rink
- Key Influences
- Socialist urban planning and architecture of GDRArchitectural blueprints and travel photographyPiranesiDe StijlBauhausInternational StyleRussian Constructivism
- Historical Context
- Born in Dresden during the German Democratic Republic (GDR) regime; artistic practice informed by experience of socialist urban planning and post-reunification Germany
- Awards and Grants
Year Award — Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Stipendium (Scholarship) 2005 Special Award, 6. Kunstpreis der Leipziger Volkszeitung 2003 Förderkoje, Art Cologne
Artistic Profile
- Style
- Visual Approach
- Architectural abstraction combining precise geometric construction with painterly dissolution
- Aesthetic Lineage
- Draws from modernist architecture, Constructivism, De Stijl, Bauhaus, while incorporating GDR socialist architectural influence
- Formal Characteristics
- Dynamic symmetryVivid, restricted color palettes (deep reds, silver blues, acid greens)Intersecting lines and vanishing pointsMulti-directional perspectiveFragmentary spatial construction
- Evolution
- Early Work 2000s
- Established signature style of architectural fragments with strong perspectives and GDR architectural references
- Mid Career 2005 2010
- Peak international visibility; larger scale works; increased complexity of spatial construction
- Stylistic Consistency
- Remarkably consistent visual language throughout career, with deepening complexity rather than dramatic shifts
- Recent Work 2010s 2020s
- Continued refinement of architectural vocabulary; balance between construction and dissolution; ongoing engagement with painting's formal concerns
- Influences
- Artistic
- Giovanni Battista Piranesi (architectural fantasies)De Stijl (Mondrian, van Doesburg)Russian ConstructivismLeipzig Academy painting tradition
- Conceptual
- East German social realism (inherited tradition)Science fiction visual languageModernist abstractionJohn Cage's approach to artistic constraints
- Architectural
- Socialist urban planning of GDRModernist architecture and International StyleBauhaus design principlesCorporate architecture (airports, world fairs, new towns)
- Visual Language
- Surface Quality
- Tension between perfectly smooth, flat areas and expressive, gestural passages; traces of reworked drawings visible
- Color Philosophy
- Restricted, synthetic color palettes enhance emptiness; piquant tones (acid greens, rich magentas) create futuristic, apocalyptic edge
- Spatial Construction
- Imploding matrices of intersecting beams, suspended facades, recessive paneling that create 'free-flowing space, unbound by reality and temporal limitations'
- Compositional Strategy
- Multiple vanishing points creating impossible spatial convergences; fragmented and layered architectural elements assembled from memory and imagination
- Themes and Subjects
- Primary Subjects
- Architectural interiors and exteriorsVirtual/impossible spacesModernist building fragmentsUninhabited urban environments
- Thematic Concerns
- Urban existence and anxietySocialist architecture and utopian planningMemory of GDR urban planningProvisional and collapsing structuresEmptiness and absence of human presenceSpace, time, fact and fiction dialecticsArchitectural modernism's failed promises
- Conceptual Framework
- Works explore 'the accumulated blank interstices in the modern world' through architectural spaces that are 'unfinished, without roofs or walls, and support structures appear more like scaffolds for the picture itself'
- Movements and Periods
- Generation
- Second generation, emerged early 2000s
- Primary Movement
- New Leipzig School (Neue Leipziger Schule)
- Related Movements
- German Contemporary PaintingNeo-ExpressionismFigurative Abstraction
- Historical Lineage
- Trained in the tradition of Leipzig Academy figurative painting under Arno Rink, continuing legacy of East German painting after reunification
- Techniques and Mediums
- Scale
- Works range from small studies (50x70cm) to monumental canvases (280x450cm). Major works often exceed 200cm in at least one dimension.
- Process
- Multi-layered paint applicationMasking tape for sectioning to create rich color blocksBuilds up from drawings and architectural studiesEffect described as 'overall effect of collage'Combines smooth, flat application with expressive handlingScratching, bleeding, rubbing down to bare canvas for texture
- Primary Medium
- Acrylic on canvas
- Secondary Mediums
- Acrylic on MDF boardAcrylic on wood panelOil and acrylic mixedGraphite and acrylicScreenprints
Critical Reception
- Critical Reception
- Catalogue Essays
- Note
- Rappolt writes: 'Kobe's paintings are a remarkably true reflection of the way in which we experience space in day-to-day life.'
- Year
- 2007
- Author
- Mark Rappolt
- Publisher
- White Cube
- Publication
- Behind True Symmetry exhibition catalogue
- Movement Context
- Recognized as a key member of the 'New Leipzig School' movement that gained international prominence in the mid-2000s. Described as part of the second generation of Leipzig painters who 'breathed new life into the East German tradition of social realist figure painting with enigmatic narratives and surrealist overtones.'
- Critical Descriptions
- Creates 'dynamic architectural visions in paint: virtual spaces that, while meticulously executed, seem provisional and in the process of collapse' (the-artists.org)
- 'Kaleidoscopic cityscapes devoid of people' that explore 'urban existence, and the anxieties and exhilarations it induces' (Artsy)
- 'Vibrant architectural paintings that bring us visions of an impossible world: highly detailed representations of imaginary spaces that dissolve into painterly abstraction' (MutualArt)
- Work described as exploring 'complex dynamics of the former socialist regime into compositions that reference—and dismantle—utopian architecture' (Artsy)
- Publications and Media
- Database Presence
- Artnet (32 auction results)MutualArt (33-35 artworks)InvaluableAskART (26 auction lots, 20 sold)Getty ULAN (authoritative biographical entry)
- Exhibition Catalogues
Title Year Venue Note Pages Publisher Life After Death: New Leipzig Paintings from the Rubell Family Collection 2005 — Major publication featuring 62 key works from New Leipzig School 150 pages, color — Behind True Symmetry 2007 — — 48 pages White Cube / Jay Jopling Martin Kobe - Ausstellung Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Stipendium 2008 — — — Karl-Schmidt-Rottluff-Förderungsstiftung Berlin The Leipzig Connection 2019 Museum HDLU, Zagreb Work illustrated p. 37 — — CRUX 2020 Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle Kobe work featured on cover — —
Gallery & Representation
- Fair Presence
- Participation
- Fair
- Art Cologne
- Note
- Förderkoje (sponsored booth)
- Year
- 2003
- Current Fair Activity
- Limited recent international art fair presence documented
- Representation
- Primary Gallery
- Name
- Galerie Jochen Hempel
- Locations
- LeipzigBerlin
- Gallery Tier
- Established German contemporary gallery
- Relationship
- Long-term representation, solo exhibitions 2017, 2023
- Previous Galleries
Name Years Location White Cube 2005-2007 London Pippy Houldsworth Gallery 2012-2013 London Brand New Gallery circa 2012 Milan, Italy Galerie Christian Ehrentraut circa 2009 Berlin Galerie LIGA 2002-2004 Berlin Galerie Tobias Naehring — Leipzig
- Geographic Reach
- Primary Markets
- Germany (Leipzig, Berlin)United Kingdom (historically)
- Secondary Markets
- ItalyAustriaNetherlands
- International Presence
- Strong European network. Historical presence in US through Rubell Collection and museum exhibitions, but limited sustained American gallery representation.
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