Philipp Furhofer

Combining painting, sculpture, installation and set design, Philipp Fürhofer’s multidisciplinary artistic practice is a blend of modern materials, mixed with historical elements.

After graduating from the Universität der Künste Berlin, Fürhofer spent months in hospital with heart issues, culminating in a partial transplant. Inspired by his own chest X-rays and their transparency, he created acrylic glass boxes filled with structured objects, giving them new forms and reality. Juxtaposing different layers of the works with spy mirror foil, he often uses incandescent light bulbs, LED tubes that switch on and off to reveal different visions. His paintings on the transparent surface transform his mysterious and oneiric worlds into infinite motifs, from torsos into landscapes or from rib cages into forests, making nature and humans coexist. Since 2008, he has continuously worked as set and costume designer for the most prestigious opera houses, from Amsterdam to Helsinki, including the Royal Opera Houses in London and Copenhagen.