The works of Armin Boehm often create a sensory experience that goes beyond two dimensions through the overlapping of fabrics, papers and paints. He is adept at building bridges between personal and collective experiences, integrating the memories of his own growth and his observations of social changes into his creations. Private memories are magnified into collective experiences through collage and abstraction, inviting viewers to jointly reflect on the human condition. "Blur" and "clarity" form the core visual language, representing memories of the past or expectations for the reality, hinting at the fissures in identity and the reshaping of history, and precisely capturing the complexity of the human condition in modern society.
This complexity is not an experiment in form but rather a means to conceal the intense social narratives within the pictures. Empty cups on the banquet tables, broken masks, swaying petals, overlapping facial features, and the incorporation of the porcupine images from George Orwell's "Animal Farm" seem to suggest the fracture and reshaping of certain identities. Through straightforward yet symbolic visual language, the power of criticism becomes more implicit and profound. This language does not attempt to directly accuse but rather triggers viewers' reflections on power relations, social divisions and individual loneliness through the defamiliarization of symbols and the polysemy of combinations.
In addition, Boehm's use of repetitive patterns has a cold industrial aesthetic, yet sudden breaks make viewers feel a certain underlying vulnerability and unease. His technique not only demonstrates the sense of order that may collapse at any time in contemporary society, but also the transformation process is a way for the artist to attempt to build human empathy. Through the slightly mechanical patterns and the treatment of interruptions in the pictures, the narrative is further weakened and the effect of metaphor is strengthened.
Such a treatment endows his works with a sense of calm restraint all the time. The chaotic scenes are carefully crafted yet also reveal a certain repressed tension. This oppositional relationship is especially manifested in the use of colors. He likes to juxtapose warm reds and golds with cold grays and blacks, creating an emotional effect that is both attractive and alienating. The often blurry figures, dialogical spaces and broken objects in the paintings remind the audience that behind the grand appearance, there is always a hidden loneliness and alienation. This "restrained pleasure", under the combination of the flat characteristics of the fibers themselves and the loose brushstrokes, is the artist's rich expression of political landscapes, social phenomena and multiculturalism, and also the artist's expression of the contradiction between "excess" and "scarcity" in modernity.
In this era when everything is infinitely magnified, art sometimes does not need to please our eyes with elements from the real world. Although Boehm's works are full of wildness, "wandering around and feasting day and night, exploring the extreme of pleasure", like a never-ending celebration, full of prosperity and vitality. The intense dramatic conflicts in the pictures and the restrained technical treatments are precisely the charming aspects of the works. The contrasts of colors, the collisions of materials and the superimpositions of collages release a power that combines boldness and restraints. This unease and drama are not deliberately incited but rather the freedom of emotional diversity and the stimulation of multiple perceptions, as well as the subtlety of reconnecting different structures in the fractures.
EXHIBITING WORKS
![]() The Animal Healing Oil and fabric on canvas 140 x 160 cm 2017 | ![]() The Good Spirits of the Alps Oil and fabric on canvas 130 x 150 cm 2017 | ![]() Dans l'immobilité Oil and fabric on canvas 120 x 115 cm 2021 - 2022 |
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![]() Fox Oil and fabric on canvas 40 x 40 cm 2022 | ![]() French Pop Oil and fabric on canvas 180 x 120 cm 2023 | ![]() Getting rid of men Oil and fabric on canvas 160 x 100 cm 2017 |
![]() Hallucination Tactile Oil and fabric on canvas 190 x 120 cm 2021 | ![]() Intellectual Seance in Red Oil and fabric on canvas 170 x 200 cm 2023 | ![]() Mairose Oil and fabric on canvas 120 x 115 cm 2023 |
![]() Neighbours Oil and fabric on canvas 170 x 150 cm 2019 | ![]() Riot Oil and fabric on canvas 135 x 155 cm 2020 | ![]() Schatten Oil and fabric on canvas 44 x 33 cm 2022 |
![]() Skrillex Chihuahua trade wars 2055 Oil and fabric on canvas 170 x 190 cm 2024 | ![]() Armin Boehm Sputiamo su Hegel (Negation of Negation) Oil and fabric on canvas 130 x 150 cm 2020 - 2021 | ![]() Too Many Rooms Oil and fabric on canvas 135 x 150 cm 2018 |
![]() Untitled Oil and fabric on canvas 100 x 80 cm 2016 | ![]() Mirroring Moonlight Oil and fabric on canvas 130 x 150 cm 2018 | ![]() Untitled Oil and fabric on canvas 100 x 80 cm 2016 |
![]() Untitled Oil and fabric on canvas 105 x 100 cm 2023 | ![]() Who sees you Oil and fabric on canvas 110 x 71 cm 2023 | ![]() Bataclan Skyper Oil and fabric on canvas 130 x 100 cm 2017 |
![]() Paris sans fin Oil and fabric on canvas 190 x 170 cm 2023 | ![]() Blue Moon Oil and fabric on canvas 140 x 150 cm 2024 | ![]() Blue and Grey Flowers Oil and fabric on canvas 70 x 50 cm 2024 |
![]() Muoio per Rinascere di Nuovo Oil and fabric on canvas 120 x 87 cm 2022 | ![]() Identity Dance Oil and fabric on canvas 170 x 190 cm 2024 | ![]() Red Moon Oil and fabric on canvas 56 x 48 cm 2024 |
![]() Untitled Oil and fabric on canvas 170 x 150 cm 2019 |
Artists

ARMIN BOEHM
b. 1972, Aachen, Germany
Armin Boehm's paintings capture the unfiltered realities of modern society, featuring complex and deeply layered scenes that intertwine internal narrative and compositional elements. His work is a fusion of multi-layered fabric collages and various motifs, drawing viewers into a surreal urban cosmos inhabited by cyborgs, politicians, and flowers.
The fragmented surface of Boehm's artwork reflects the psychological fractures of contemporary life, representing the various layers of 'reality' that coexist within our daily lives. Much like the German Expressionism movement of the early 20th century, which examined the effects of technological progress, Boehm critiques the shifting spirituality and morality of modern society – forces that are increasingly shaped by technology and the small, powerful elite who control it.
Boehm's work exudes an undeniable sense of anxiety. As the artist reflects, "Recently, our lives have been dominated by unexamined positivity." In an age where social validation is increasingly measured in ‘likes’, Boehm argues that it is more important than ever to confront and express our anxieties and tragedies – only then can we move toward true mental stability.
Boehm has participated in various international exhibitions. His recent exhibitions include: LUST ANGST SCHMERZ EKSTASE at König Galerie (Germany, 2024), Die hellen Tage at Hans Alf Gallery (Denmark, 2023), and From Gloom to Night at CHOI&CHOI Gallery (South Korea, 2022).