Moritz Koch
Moritz Koch (*2000 in Mainz) is a self-taught photo artist and “photo director”.
Moritz Koch discovered staged photography for himself at the age of 16. After several smaller exhibitions, he had a very successful solo exhibition at the age of 18 in the 800 m² gallery of the Mainz City Hall.
The young artist devotes himself to photography in a special way: dozens of vintage cars, countless props, elaborate costumes and up to 150 extras are elaborately staged after sometimes months of preparation. His productions look like large film sets. Yet Moritz does not shoot scenes for a film, but captures his composition with a single photographic work of art. Nothing is left to chance – similar to photographers such as Alex Prager and Tim Walker, who are among his inspirations, as are filmmakers Pablo Larraín or Pedro Almodovar.
His aspiration is to create detailed works of art that keep revealing new details even after prolonged viewing – like large hidden object pictures. This includes works such as “LOST DATA” (2018), “JUSTITIA 1/3” (2018), “HALLELUJA / BIRTH OF MINERVA” (2019), “WATCH THE SUN GO DOWN” (2019) and the photo series “NIGHTMARE IN PARADISE” (2021 – 2023).
With his large-format photographs, however, Moritz Koch not only wants to inspire and trigger emotions through appealing aesthetics, but also to tell moving stories, bring people together and encourage an exchange of ideas. In doing so, he deals with social ideals, the fast pace of life, climate change and digitalisation, but also with a vision of the future that portrays the ambivalence of utopia and dystopia. As in the process of creating his works, the focus is also on people in terms of content. Existential questions about the transience of life, the search for meaning, fate or death are as much a part of his work as the reflection on interpersonal structures and conflicts. The aesthetics of his works, to which he himself ascribes a “post-futuristic character”, have a nostalgic effect. Visual references to the Space Age or Jackie Kennedy can be found as well as allusions to the American photographer Gregory Crewdson. Due to a wide variety of passions, such as fashion, automobiles and architecture, the artist selects even the smallest props with great care and thus creates pictorial metaphors.
Moritz Koch also explores his themes in other works that are staged as snapshots like portraits, for example in “CAPTURED PERCEPTION” (2019), “LANDING” (2021) or “SWAN LAKE” (2021).
Since 2023 he has also been working with a completely new medium: staged 360° photography. His aim here is to overcome the distance between the classic work of art on the wall and its viewer. With the help of VR glasses, he wants to create the illusion of standing in the picture and being able to look around.
Currently, in his new photo series “NIGHTMARE IN PARADISE”, the photo director is investigating the relationship between emotion and mind as well as the question of which other, multi-sensual artistic practices can create and conserve human moods: He experiments with scent and sound to enable a holistic or immersive experience in the worlds he creates.
More information about Moritz Koch.
Exhibitions
- 2023 Nightmare In Paradise, nüüd.berlin gallery, Single exhibition
- 2022 Works by Moritz Koch, Rodgau Galerie, Single exhibition
- 2021 Works by Moritz Koch, Stadtgalerie Neu-Isenburg, Single exhibition
- 2019 The Wake Up Call, Gallery of the Mainz Town Hall, Single exhibition
- 2017 The Wake Up Call, Stadthalle Weisenau, Single exhibition