Adrian Ghenie is a Romanian painter who lives and works in Berlin. He emerged in the early 2000s with a distinctive approach to figurative painting that reinterprets historical events through a contemporary lens.
His work frequently addresses the legacy of 20th-century European tyrannies, using distorted figures and dark, expressive brushwork to evoke psychological tension. In his recent series, he has turned his attention to the impact of digital technology, painting twisted, monstrous figures transfixed by phones and laptops.
In 2026, Ghenie presented 'The Fear of NOW' at Thaddaeus Ropac London and 'Capricci romani' at Palazzo Poli in Rome, a show of previously unseen works on paper. These exhibitions underscore his continued engagement with historical and contemporary anxieties.
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