Attention shifts when scale changes. A single form can reveal an entire system when observed closely enough. I approach painting as a process of dissolving into observation, allowing what is sensed to move through potential and onto the canvas. Working with nature as a field of scale, I engage with it as an active presence, responsive and alive, shaping both process and outcome. Each painting functions as a fragment that gestures toward a larger whole, where a surface, gesture, or form can stand in for an entire network or system.
Since 2022, my practice has shifted from pursuing idealized perfection toward engaging with the irregular, uneasy beauty that emerges through the natural world. In this shift, forms surface as presences shaped by what lies beyond immediate perception. The work remains open, unfolding through the viewer’s encounter.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Education
BACHELOR of fine arts
minor in electronic music
IRWIN SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT
KORET SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT
University of California Santa Cruz
2024
Group Exhibitions
2025
NImbash
Charles krug winery, st helena, ca.
2025
no theme, theme show
Covet gallery, oceanside, ca
2024
NImbash
Charles krug winery, st helena, ca.
2023
Blueprint.
sesnon gallery, Santa cruz, ca.
2023
salon de refuses.
four chicken gallery, san francisco, ca.
Solo Exhibitions
2023
Antithesis.
Eduardo Carrillo gallery, Santa cruz, ca
2022
HOME AWAY.
POP UP IN MY COLLEGE HOME, SANTA CRUZ, CA.
Maximilian von Strasser is an American artist living and working in Los Angeles. His practice spans painting, sculpture, furniture, and sound. His work folds nature, geometry, physics, and spirituality into a single visual language where organic growth meets structural logic.