Life and Academic Career
Christian Macketanz was born in Eutin, Germany. He grew up in Ostholstein and Niedersachsen. After completing his Abitur at the Johanneum Lüneburg, he began studying at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna in 1983 under Maria Lassnig. In the autumn of 1994, he left Vienna for a scholarship residency in Rome, where he lived and worked until 2001. Following this, he moved to Berlin in mid-2001. In 2010, Macketanz was appointed as a professor of painting at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, subsequently relocating his family to the Saxon state capital.
In addition to his role in Dresden, he teaches at the International Summer Academy Salzburg in 2025. His professional roles include being a painter, a textile artist, and a university teacher.
Artistic Practice and Exhibitions
Macketanz's work focuses on the medium of painting, with subjects ranging from everyday scenes and portraits of historical figures to narrative figurations, religion, spirituality, interpersonal relationships, and the connection between humanity and nature. His artistic approach involves the use of painterly expressive means and a concentration on the individual image. His exhibitions have taken place in various locations, including Graz, Austria; Vienna, Austria; Cologne, Germany; Rome, Italy; Prague, Czech Republic; Zurich, Switzerland; Brno, Czech Republic; Bregenz, Austria; Dresden, Germany; and Salzburg, Austria.
His catalog includes the following works:
