Artist statement

The overall theme for my artwork is NATURE.

My art and practice is based on both a scientific, a philosophical and a spiritual approach by being in and truly seeing and sensing nature.

I am fascinated by the traces which bear witness to the passage of time. The long and short intervals of time are mirrored around us in large and small.

I have a surtain awareness around how nature is coping with the impact of human activity everywhere. The impact is increasing and humans are destroying and changing ecosystems and the foundation for an incredible number of species, including our own.

My intent and hope is that my artwork will contribute to a change in human behavior that is more sustainable and respectfull towards other species and the Earth as a whole.

is chaos and cosmos of nature in itself the meaning…
the experience of eternity of time
the feeling of being insignificant

the incomprehensible is not comprehensible
the science of nature can be understood but not comprehended

maybe art can add the dimension
that makes the incomprehensible comprehensible – maybe
the force of nature is the purpose of art

Biography

Born 1957 i Gråsten – autodidact

Photographer for 50+ years.

Naturephotographer of the Year 2006, NFD, Denmark 2006

Membership

AVAL - platform for sustainable artistic activities, Frederiksberg.

Competencies & skills

•   Printmaking, Skovhuset Værløse, 2010, 2011, 2012

•   Printmaking, Havarthigården, Holte, 2012

•   Photogravure, Højbjerg Photographic Workshop, 2014

•   Photogravure, Copenhagen, 2017

•   Mentored by artist John Olsen from 2017 until 2019

•   Paper Art, Paper Academy by Anne Vilsbøll, Gilleleje, 2021

•   ALTERNATIVE PROCESSES IN PHOTOGRAPHY Workshop at Strondin Studio, Seydisfjordur, Iceland
      Nætursól/ NightSun with Dianne Bos & Sarah Fuller, May 27th- June 3rd, 2023

•   Wetplate Collodion, workshop with Karen Stentaford at Strondin Studio, Seydisfjordur, Iceland, 2024

•   Bookbinding workshop with Lars Hedegaard, FotoGrafisk Værksted, Højbjerg, 2025

•   Photocollage, workshop with Nikolaj Callesen,  Copenhagen, 2025

•   The Phenomenology and Production of Color, AVAL- Masterclass, 2025

•   Hard ground etching and aquatint on copper. Workshop at Printer's Proof, Copenhagen, 2025

•   Photogravure, Fyns Grafiske Værksted, Odense, 2025

Residencies

• “Wanderlust”, Group Residency, Skaftfell Center for Visual Art, Seydisfjordur, Iceland, 2019 together with the artists:  Alison Shields, Elisabeth Ellis, Hua Jin, Kati Roover, Paul Chidester, Severin Geißler. Led by Jessica Auer.

Exhibitions (selected):

•  Kunstforeningen ved Trørødskolen, 2007, solo

•  Holte Hovedbibliotek, 2007, solo

•  Danish Photographic Museum, Herning, 2008, solo

•  Katuaq – Grønlands Kulturhus, Nuuk, 2008, with Gerda Nietzer and Kristian Olsen Aaju

•  Rundetaarn, København, 2009, with Gerda Nietzer and Kristian Olsen Aaju

•  Fotocafeen, København, 2010, solo

•  Damhuset, Lyngby. 2008, 2010, 2011, solo

•  Kunstsalen, Oksbøl v. Strandgalleriet og Oksbøl Kunstforening, 2010, with Gerda Nietzer

•  Censored Spring Exhibition, Hillerød Kunstdage 2010, first place, 2011

•  Censored Spring Exhibition, Annaborg, Hillerød Kunstforening, 2010, 2011

•  Galleri Inuit, Aalborg, 2010, group

•  Censored Fall Exhibition, Struer, 2011

•  Kommunikationscentret, Hillerød, 2011, solo

•  Nuuk Artmuseum, Nuuk, 2013, solo

•  Ilulissat Artmuseum, Ilulissat, 2013, solo

•  Ansgar Church, Hedehusene, 2014, solo

•  Greenland Now, 2018-2019, group: Kirsten Klein, Rikke Diemer, Jørn Bork, Linda Rieber, Anne-Birte Hove, Morten Hilmer, Kristine Markussen,

     Gukki Nuka Willsen Møller, Naja Abelsen, Kristian Mainz – at Morsø Kunstforening, The North Atlantic House in Odense, Frederikshavn Artmuseum,

     Kolding Kunstforening, Korsør Kunstforening, Albertslund Kunstforening, Hillerød Kunstforening, Himmerlands Artmuseum, Vestjyllands Artpavillon

•  At three miles an hour, Skaftfell/ Strondin, Seydisfjordur, Iceland 2019, group

•  Tiden Efter – Efter Tiden (The Time After – After Time), Skovhuset Kunst & Natur, Værløse, 2020, solo

•  Spændvidde, Kunsthuset Annaborg, Hillerød Kunstforening, 2022, group

•  Sydslesvigs Danske Kunstforening, Flensborg, Germany, sept. 2023 with Naja Abelsen

•  Naturligvis, Kunsthuset Annaborg, Hillerød Kunstforening, 2024, group

•  FUGL 2025, Johannes Larsen Museet, Kerteminde, Sept. 2025 - Jan. 2026, group

Upcoming:

•  "Earth, Sky, Light - with roots in the Borderland", RADAR, Sønderborg, June-July 2026, with Helene Callesen and Nikolaj Callesen. 

      Radar is an exhibition platform for current Danish and international contemporary art with a special focus on the border region.

•   Østfyns Kunstforening together with artist Lea Mi Engholm, Nyborg, 25 th. of September - 10th. of Oktober 2026.

Texts:

Music and rocks in beautiful union

KNR Kallaalit Nunaata Radioa.   Written by PETER TROELSEN March 17, 2013     https://knr.gl/da/nyheder/musik-og-klipper-i-smuk-forening

At Kristian Mainz's photo exhibition at Nuuk Art Museum, you will, for a very rare occasion, be accompanied by music while you stroll through the photographer's fantastic works.

A joint venture production between father and daughter makes the exhibition something special for both ears and eyes.

The photographs of Greenland's rocks make demands on the viewer, and it is a distinct advantage not to have your head full of everyday problems while you walk through Kristian Mainz's photographs of rock landscapes, basalt columns and sandstone. Kamilla Mainz's musical accompaniment ensures this. -I have tried to make some music that is almost reminiscent of a mantra that you can take with you around my father's photographs. If it can help museum visitors get into a state where they are more receptive to the content of the images, then I have achieved my goal with music,

Kamilla Mainz states in a conversation with the correspondent from knr.gl. For the composer, there is rhythm in almost everything. From the human life cycle to the universe, and therein lies both life and vanity, which constantly replace each other. The composer has used this to build the constant rhythm that accompanies the viewers at the exhibition.

-I am not interested in the composition being a specific audio file for the image with the aim of solely emphasizing the elements by creating a link between what you see and what you hear. On the contrary, I have tried to capture the essence of the images' expression and the concept of time as well as the huge forces and soul of nature, if you can talk about such a thing, states Kamilla Mainz.