Lion Mayer is an artist, graphic designer and publisher living in Leipzig. His main concern is bookmaking, intermedial paintings and photography.

Mayer considers the publishing of his artist's books and editions to be a core aspect of his work. For him, series production is a democratic act, in opposition to the unique specimen.

Furthermore, his antiquarian bookshop functions as a research platform.

Comsec Books is an independent publisher and antiquarian bookshop. Founded by Lion Mayer as an art project.

 

The Books

 

"Luchadores e Luchadoras"

 "Teilchenbeschleuniger I - VIII"

The Screenshot Paintings

In his "Screenshot Paintings" Mayer transforms the schematic fragments of the digital language into analog canvas. The composition is digitally modified and then translated to a manually created painting.
 This transformation process addresses questions of aesthetics and form with reference to the visual and technical possibilities of both the analog and the digital. Synthesizing both spheres gives the paintings it's extraordinary aura.

 

 „Broken Mirror 1“, Acryl on Canvas, 80x60cm, 2022 - INQUIRE

„Broken Mirror 2“, Acryl on Canvas, 80x60cm, 2022 - INQUIRE

„Broken Mirror 3“, Acryl on Canvas, 80x60cm, 2022 - INQUIRE

"Images contaminate us like viruses" - Paul Virilio

The mechanisms of digitization, it’s virtual overstimulation and the permanent simultaneity, are related to our new interpretation of time. The huge flood of images in our everyday reality contains scrolling through e-mails or social media feeds, receiving many text messages, or the constant retrieval of news on the Internet, just to name a few indicators of how information comes into our lives today. This stimulus satiation is so massive and permanent that it makes us feel like being contaminated. Due to this huge amount of images, the concentration on a specific image is becoming less and less. Instead of focusing on a certain picture or information, you get a broad overview of many contents. So you do not reach the real depth of the subject or image. Lion Mayer refers to these ideas & topics in his digital paintings.

To interrupt the chronology of the stimulus delivery, the artist has created several Screenshots. Here the screenshot serves as a moment of Standstill in an over-dynamic time. Due to this standstill, feedback of the stimuli takes place, because the collected image material is modified and then used as the basis for digital paintings.

Thus, with the information and stimuli of everyday life, new paintings are generated, which are translated into encoded visual handwriting, which can only be deciphered through intensive and active perception. The works represent our understanding of time, in this fast and overwhelmingly dense society. The invested time and concentration on a complex picture functions as an antipole to the superficial absorption of stimuli.