ARTIST STATEMENT
Max Schulze (1994) lives and works in Amsterdam.

A birthday party that melts into a fever dream, a rowdy dance that is actually a malicious ritual, or a sensual gathering that turns into a brawl: in his work, Schulze is constantly searching for the boundary between pleasure and destruction. The protagonists in his paintings find themselves among the debris of their own decadence, are damaged and imperfect and are constantly confronted with their own shortcomings.

Using a collage-like approach, he works from a large archive of photographs with a wide range of subjects - from Greek busts to accidental passers-by, from Studio 54 to images of war - and explores the human need to escape reality and the destructive desire it entails.
CURRICULUM VITAE

EDUCATION
  • 2012 - 2016 Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht
  • Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA)

PRIZES / NOMINATIONS
  • HKU Thesis Award 2016 (winner)
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EXHIBITIONS

Current
Upcoming
  • BAC - Borneo Architecture Center, Amsterdam (March2026, solo)
  • Ex Pescheria Vecchia, Este, Italy (June 2026, group)
  • hARTslane Gallery, London, UK (November 2026, group)

Solo
Duo
  • Bear traps on a birthday cake (with Stefanie Bloier), Kunsthal Kloof, Utrecht (2023)
  • VERMIN / VENOM (with Lotte Hardeman), Lokaal Lokaal, Amsterdam (2021)

Group
  • Public Relations, What Art Can Do, Amsterdam (2025-2026)
  • De Salon, What Art Can Do, Amsterdam (2024-2025)
  • Kloof United, Kunsthal Kloof, Utrecht (2024)
  • IJ KUNSTCOLLECTIEF, Loods 6, Amsterdam (2024)
  • IJ KUNSTCOLLECTIEF, Nieuw Dakota / Beautiful Distress House, Amsterdam (2022)
  • 37PK, poetry / performance during the exhibition Van bezemsteel tot zuil gepromoveerd by Hilke Walraven, Haarlem (2022)
  • Amsterdam Public Library (OBA), Amsterdam (2021)
  • ​De Hallen, Amsterdam (2021)
  • Lil' Amsterdam, Central Station, Amsterdam (2020)
  • WOW Art Sale, WOW Amsterdam (2018)
  • Radio in The Bathtub : a harvest, a feast, Moira, Utrecht (2018)
  • Parklicht - "Achterlicht", Oosterpark, Amsterdam (2018)
  • WOW Masquerade, WOW Amsterdam (2018)
  • Dappie Open Studios, Dappie, Amsterdam (2018)
  • Opium TorenkamerEXPO (2018)
  • SBK Sprouts Young Talents (2017)
  • HKU FA TWG 2016 (graduation show)
  • EMP.FM radio performance, Spinhuis, Amsterdam (2015)
  • Eastern Neighbours Film Festival, Den Haag (screening) (2015)
  • Vrijblijvend Sanitair - Tractieweg 41, Utrecht (2015)
  • Expo Am Flutgraben, Berlin, Germany (2014)
  • CATLAB - Koningsweg, Utrecht (2014)

RESIDENCIES / PROJECTS

De Reeks, series of artist publications (project, editor-in-chief, 2021)
WOW Amsterdam (residency, June 2017 - May 2019)
Project space Dappie (Dapperstraat 82), Amsterdam (residency, april - may 2017)
De Torenkamer, VondelCS, Amsterdam (residency, january 2018)
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PUBLICATIONS