Valentin Elias Renner German, b. 1998

Valentin Elias Renner, born in 1998 in Ulm, Germany, developed an early fascination with maps, territories, and stories of exploration. Inspired by the travels of Marco Polo and driven by a desire to understand the world beyond visible borders, he became deeply interested in how places, journeys, and human connections can be visually represented. This curiosity remains a central force in his artistic practice.

In 2018, during a journey to a small Indonesian island, a formative experience helped shape his artistic vision: a world map on which visitors marked their hometowns with colored threads leading to the island. This collective and symbolic gesture left a lasting impression on Renner. Upon returning to Germany, he began developing his own technique, using nails and thread to create relief-based works that transform flat surfaces into three-dimensional visual spaces. Initially conceived as personal records of his travels, these early pieces gradually evolved into more conceptual artworks.

Moving into his studio in Hamburg’s Grindel district marked a significant turning point. The scale of his works expanded, as did the scope of his artistic ambitions. In 2022, his participation in a group exhibition became a decisive moment, accelerating his artistic career and bringing his work to a wider audience.

Today, Valentin Elias Renner has established himself on both the German and international art scenes. His works have been exhibited in Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Ulm, Madrid, Kitzbühel, and Copenhagen. Through his thread-based cartographies, Renner invites viewers to lose themselves in networks of paths and stories, exploring themes of travel, personal transformation, and human connection in an ever-changing world.