Max Frintrop: Imaginary Space at Bilker Bunker Düsseldorf


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Max Frintrop at Bilker Bunker: Painting as Imaginary Space
With Imaginary Space, the Bilker Bunker presents for the first time a comprehensive solo exhibition of Max Frintrop in his hometown Düsseldorf from November 6 to December 6, 2026. The exhibition features large-format abstract paintings and smaller works in which color, ink, and pigments merge into multi-layered, deep spatial image worlds.
Abstract Painting between Color, Movement, and Material
Max Frintrop, born in 1982 in Oberhausen, lives and works in Düsseldorf. From 2003 to 2009, he studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy in the class of Albert Oehlen and completed his studies as a master student with the diploma. His painting navigates between spontaneous gesture, controlled placement, and an intense examination of spatial perception.
In Frintrop's works, no classical landscapes or narrative scenes are created. Instead, open image spaces develop from layering, superimpositions, and dynamic color constellations. Ink, acrylic, pigments, and other materials create surfaces that are both physically present and imaginary. The viewing of the works leads into an intermediate area of painting, spatial drawing, and visual movement.
The Bunker as a Resonance Space
The architecture of the Bilker Bunker significantly shapes the art experience. Concrete, massive walls, and the history of the place engage in immediate dialogue with Frintrop's color-intensive painting. The exhibition makes it tangible how the spatial effect of an image changes when it is encountered not in a neutral white cube but in a striking, materially charged architecture.
Large works unfold a physical presence in the bunker. Smaller works, on the other hand, provide a more concentrated access to Frintrop's visual language. Proximity and distance, density and openness, weight and buoyancy become recurring qualities of the exhibition atmosphere.
Art Historical Context and Düsseldorf Perspective
Frintrop's position is rooted in the tradition of contemporary abstract painting that keeps the process of creation visible. His works connect gestural dynamism with conscious composition and are linked to the experimental Düsseldorf art scene. International exhibitions as well as presentations, among others, at the Kunstmuseum Bonn, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Museum Wiesbaden, and Mies van der Rohe Haus Berlin underscore the significance of his work.
The curation of Imaginary Space emphasizes the tension between individual image bodies and the historical materiality of the exhibition site. This creates an aesthetic experience that does not only operate through motifs but through color, light, scale, surface, and movement in space.
Accompanying Program and Special Events
Complementing the exhibition, there will be a presentation in the rooms of the Kreissparkasse Düsseldorf, a shortcut featuring works by Yorgos Stamkopoulos from November 20 to 22, 2026, and a book presentation with an artist talk on November 27, 2026. Public exhibition tours and private tours for groups of up to 15 people complement the cultural education offerings.
Conclusion: An Intense Art Experience at Bilker Bunker
Max Frintrop's Imaginary Space promises an exhibition where abstract painting meets the raw presence of a special Düsseldorf location. Visitors experience color as movement, material as trace, and architecture as an active part of the artwork observation. Those wishing to discover contemporary art, the Düsseldorf art scene, and the sensory power of abstract painting should definitely experience this exhibition live.
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- Website: https://www.maxfrintrop.com/










