Artist Bio
Michael "MiQ" Quarz, born on December 1, 1966 in Langenfeld in the Rhineland (Germany). Lives and works in Moers on the Lower Rhine (Germany).
Michael works under the pseudonym "MiQ" and showed his passion for visual arts at a very early age. He received his first artistic education at school and outside as a teenager. He was especially inspired by his art teacher Bruno Stane-Grill.
He became a freelance artist immediately after leaving school and won national and international prizes early on. Between 1989 and 1993, he won several first and second prizes in the "European Master of the Airbrush" competition.
Between 1986 and 1995 he had 27 solo and group exhibitions.
In the 10 years of his early artistic career, MiQ worked almost exclusively as a commissioned artist before switching to advertising and founding a successful advertising agency. With the rise of the Internet, he shifted his professional focus to design, marketing and business consulting, which remained his main activity for over 20 years.
At the same time, MiQ remained faithful to art and continued to work artistically, analog and increasingly digital. Computers and iPads became his preferred media for practical reasons. He still appreciates oil and acrylic the most because of their sensual qualities.
At the self-chosen end of his professional career, he returned to art - continuing as an artist and with the marketing of art through his own online gallery and collaborations.
Artist Statement
Diving deep into drawing and painting with body and soul. This became a part of my life very early on - and has remained so.
My work was and is characterized by the exploration and development of my artistic opportunities. I painted large walls and tiny miniatures, on canvases, wood and objects of many kinds. I love it when my works and painted objects become a part of other people's lives and daily existence.
With my works I build a bridge between traditional and digital art and play with the many possibilities and combinations of both worlds. Because of these possibilities alone, I remain open to all techniques and all styles. From drawing and painting to photography, artificial intelligence and digital montage. In terms of expression, I like drawings and graphics just as much as expressionist and abstract works or photography and realism, but increasingly less so. This means I don't fit into the classic art market. But I am happy to pay this price.
