BIO
BIO
Max de Esteban is an artist working mostly in photography and video whose work is best known for his examination of the human condition under a technological regime.
His projects have been exhibited at museums and institutions such as Jeu de Paume in Paris, MUAC in Mexico, NRW-Forum in Dusseldorf, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Deutsche Technik Museum in Berlin, Virreina Centre de l’Imatge in Barcelona, CGAC in Santiago de Compostela and Palais de Tokyo in Paris.
Max participated in the XVI Cuenca Biennial (2023); Yokohama Triennale (2020); XIII Cairo Biennial (2019); XIII Bienal de la Habana (2019); XVI Fotofest Biennial (2016) and Darmstädter TdF Triennial (2014).
His work has been the subject of five monographs: Estética de la Extinción (Turner); Twenty Red Lights (Virreina/La Fábrica); Propositions (La Fábrica); Heads will Roll (Hatje Cantz) and Elegies of Manumission (Nazraeli Press) and is part of museums’ collections such as Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf, Deutsche Technik Museum in Berlin, CGAC in Santiago de Compostela, Wifredo Lam in La Habana and MACBA in Barcelona.
Max is a Fulbright alumnus and received a PhD in Economics and Business from Universitat Ramon Lull, an MBA from Stanford University and a MSc and BSc in Engineering from Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya.
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
CENTRE D’ARTS SANTA MÒNICA – L’ALTRE COSTAT – curated by Enric Puig and Ferran Utzet. From February 29 until June 2 2024, in Barcelona.
CINETECA MATADERO – INTERVIEW WITH MY MOTHER – video projection and conversation with Franco Bifo Berardi. Curated by Marta Ramos Izquierdo. Wednesday April 10th 2024 in Madrid.
LA GRAN FÁBULA DEL CAPITAL – CENTRO CONDE DUQUE curated by Valentín Roma, open until April 14 2024 in Madrid.
MACBA COLLECTION – INTENCIÓN POÉTICA curated by Elvira Dyangani Ose, Antonia María Perelló and Claudia Segura. Permanent exhibition in Barcelona.
XVI BIENAL DE CUENCA – QUIZAS MAÑANA curated by Ferran Barenblit, open until March 8 2024 in Cuenca, Ecuador.
CV
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
XVI Bienal de Cuenca, Quizá Mañana, Cuenca, Ecuador.
Festival Internacional de Cine de Valdivia, Galería Réplica y Núcleo FAIR, A Forest, Valdivia, Chile.
2022
Virreina Centre de l’Imatge, White Noise with Franco “Bifo” Berardi, Barcelona, Spain
Virreina Centre de l’Imatge, A Forest with W.J.T. Mitchell, Barcelona, Spain
2021
MUAC – Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, Sala 10, A Forest, D.F., Mexico
Klompching Gallery, Curious Devices (with J. May & R. Hackemann), New York, USA
2020
Yokohama Triennale, Afterglow, Yokohama, Japan
2019
CGAC – Centro Gallego de Arte Contemporáneo, Twenty Red Lights, Spain
XIII Cairo Biennale. A Forest. Egypt
XIII Bienal de La Habana, Twenty Red Lights, Cuba
Klompching Gallery, On Plane View (with Doug Fogelson), New York, USA
2018
Virreina Centre de la Imatge, Twenty Red Lights, Barcelona, Spain
Klompching Gallery, Binary Code, New York, USA
2017
Mirbach Palais, Binary Code, Bratislava, Slovakia
Center for Fine Art Photography, Heads will Roll, Fort Collins, USA
Uno Art, Heads will Roll, Stuttgart, Germany
Pingyao International Photography Festival, Binary Code, China
Art Galerie, Heads will Roll, Siegen, Germany
2016
XVI Fotofest Biennial, Heads will Roll, Houston, USA
Gallery NoW, Heads will Roll, Seoul, Korea
La Fabrica, Propositions, Madrid, Spain
2015
Deutsche Technik Museum, Vom Vergehen, Berlin, Germany
Klompching Gallery, Heads will Roll, New York, USA
2014
Gallery NoW, Proposition One, Seoul, Korea
PhotoVisa Festival of Photography, Heads will Roll, Krasnodar, Russia
2013
Uno Art Space, Propositions, Stuttgart, Germany
FotoQuartier Gallery, Elegies of Manumission, Vienna, Austria
2012
Central European House of Photography, Elegies, Bratislava, Slovakia
Festival de la Luz, Proposition One, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2011
Klompching Gallery, Proposition One. New York, USA
2010
Fotofestiwal, Vertige. Lodz, Poland
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
MACBA – Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona. Colección – Intención Poética, Barcelona, Spain
CONDEDUQUE – Centro de Cultura Contemporánea. La Gran Fábula del Capital, Madrid, Spain
XVI Bienal de Artes Mediales, A Forest. Santiago de Chile, Chile
XVII Bienal de Fotografía. Atlánticas Colectivas, Tenerife, Spain
2021
Red Brick Art Museum, Le Supermarché des Images, Beijing, China
Noyes Museum, Digital Practices in Changing Times, Atlantic City, USA
2020
Jeu de Paume, Le Supermarché des images, Paris, France
2019
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Museum für Fotografie, Berlin; Germany
NRW-Forum, On New Vision In Contemporary Art, Dusseldorf
Kunsthalle Darmstadt, On New Vision In Contemporary Art, Darmstadt
III International Photography Festival, Liaoning, China
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Strange Fire Collective, USA
2018
Künstlerhaus Bethanien, You & Me, Berlin, Germany
AIPAD, Klompching Gallery, New York, USA
Collectors Salon AIPAD, Klompching Gallery, New York, USA
Korea Galleries Art Fair, Gallery NoW, Seoul, Korea
Photographs Los Angeles, Klompching Gallery, LA, USA
2017
Klompching Gallery, 10th Anniversary Exhibition, New York, USA
Korea International Photo Festival, Seoul, Korea
Red Line Contemporary Art Center, Between the Medium, Denver, USA
Landskrona Foto Festival, You and Me, Binary Code, Sweden
Two.Seven, Thomas Kellner, Seigen, Germany
2016
Klompching Gallery, We Show Here, New York, USA
KIAF, Gallery Now, Seoul, Korea
Gallery NoW, New Vision, Seoul, Korea
AIPAD. Klompching Gallery, New York, USA
2015
Institute of Contemporary Art, Relics, San Jose, USA
SOAF. Gallery NoW, Seoul, Korea
Art Edition, Gallery NoW, Seoul, Korea
AIPAD. Klompching Gallery, New York, USA
2014
Darmstädter Tage der Fotografie, Darmstadt, Germany
Klompching Gallery, About Face:, New York, USA
Fotofest, The Collector’s Eye: The Maloney Collection, Houston, USA
Gallery NoW, Modern Memories, Seoul, Korea
SOAF. Gallery NoW, Seoul, Korea
Videos FestFoto, Proposition Two, Porto Alegre, Brazil
AIPAD. Klompching Gallery, New York, USA
FestFoto-Diálogos Internacionais, Propositions, Porto Alegre, Brazil
2013
Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; Germany
Klompching Gallery, Polychromatic, New York, USA
Premios Lux, 20 años, Palau Robert, Barcelona, Spain
Welde Kunstpreis, Alte Feuerwache, Heidelberg, Germany
AIPAD. Klompching Gallery, New York, USA
2012
Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Photo Forum, USA
Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
Diemar/Noble Photography, The Gathering, London, UK
Klompching Gallery, Winter Salon. New York, USA
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf, Germany
Museum of Fine Arts Houston, USA
CGAC- Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Spain
Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro-Paiva Coll.,Brazil
Deutsche Technik Museum Berlin, Germany
Col·lecció Nacional de Fotografia de Catalunya, Spain
SEDF-Central European House of Photography, Slovakia
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Museum für Fotografie, Germany
Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, Cuba
MACBA-Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Spain
BOOKS
Estética de la Extinción, Turner, Spain, 2022
Supermarché des Images, Gallimard/Jeu de Paume, France, 2020
Bauhaus und die Fotografie, Kerber, Germany, 2019
Twenty Red Lights, La Virreina-La Fabrica, Spain, 2017
Propositions, La Fabrica, Spain, 2015
Heads will Roll, Hatje Cantz, Germany 2014
Dictionary of Spanish Photographers, La Fabrica, Spain 2014
Elegies of Manumission, Nazraeli Press, USA 2012
CRITICAL ESSAYS
Cuauhtémoc Medina, A Conversation, 2022
Iván de La Nuez, Estética de la Extinción, 2022
Walter Benn Michaels, The World Without Us, 2022
W.J.T. Mitchell, The Biocybernetic Forest, 2022
Franco “Bifo” Berardi, Meme-Swarm and Microtrading, 2021
Andrea Soto Calderón, Las cenizas de nuestra era, 2021
Franco “Bifo” Berardi, A Visual Interpretation, 2019
Diana Padron & Lorenza Pignatti, Twenty Red Lights, 2018
Bill Kouwenhoven, I Don’t Understand, 2018
Franco “Bifo” Berardi, Synthetic Colours, 2017
Michel Feher, Brave New World Redux, 2017
Paul Wombell, Silo Dreams, 2017
Pavel Banka, Multilayered Works, 2016
Valentín Roma, The Singular Lens, 2015
Laura Gonzalez Flores, The Question Concerning What is Fluid and Unstable, 2015
Rafael Argullol, In Chiaroscuro, 2015
Félix de Azúa, The Entrails of the Soul, 2015
Bill Kouwenhoven, We Live Interesting Times, 2014
Carles Guerra, Photo-Capitalism is Amongst Us, 2014
EDUCATION
PhD Economics and Business – Universitat Ramon Lull
MBA – Stanford University
MSc and BSc in Engineering – Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya.
Fulbright Alumnus