Martin Winkler is a visual artist living and working between Göttingen and Berlin. He studied Fine Arts with a focus on painting at the Kunsthochschule Kassel. His practice moves fluidly between painting, installation, and illustration, often using gouache and ink in layered and experimental ways. His work is rooted in figuration, using symbolic forms, vivid palettes, and expressive gestures that oscillate between the playful, the poetic, and the unsettling.

Winkler explores themes such as queer history, intimacy, vulnerability, and erased or forgotten narratives. Deeply influenced by medieval imagery, mythology, pop culture and personal memory, he creates scenes that shift between private reflection and collective experience. Humor, softness, and emotional transparency are essential tools in his approach. His artistic process begins with intuitive writing, automatic drawing, and extensive material research. His paintings often grow beyond the canvas into spatial compositions, where surfaces speak and borders dissolve.

For Open Studios at GlogauAIR, Martin Winkler expands the idea of what painting can be. Through light elements, layered textures, and fragmented storytelling, he invites visitors into a world where personal and political layers blur. His large-scale paintings reflect on the unraveling of childhood logic, while a sculptural horse covered in teeth stands as a surreal symbol of transformation, fear, and memory.