Martin Kobe, a member of the New Leipzig School, paints colourful cityscapes empty of humans to examine urban life and the problems and enthusiasm it creates.
East German-born artist Kobe integrates the complexities of the previous communist system into pieces that both reference and criticise utopian construction. He creates structural vortexes by disassembling and reassembling building parts.
His paintings have a futuristic, post-apocalyptic air due to the smooth gradients of vivid, acidic colours that intensify the sensation of movement. In order to better integrate the various histories of urban life, Kobe, a keen student of art and architectural history, includes elements influenced by the Bauhaus school, the avant-garde collective De Stijl, and Russian constructivism.