The collaborative works of Gert and Uwe Tobias exist in a dynamic interplay between cultural memory and personal imagination. Over the past two decades, they have not only become among the most significant artists working in woodcut, but have crafted a distinctive artistic universe, marked by an eclectic mix of stylistic influences. While their earlier works primarily reinterpreted folkloric motifs and scenarios as a foundation for innovation, their more recent woodcuts have broadened to explore themes rooted in art history. The artists draw inspiration from a diverse array of sources and genres, incorporating art-historical motifs, pop culture elements, and imagery from Transylvanian folklore.
Gert and Uwe Tobias (born 1973 in Brasov, Romania) live and work in Cologne. Solo institutional exhibitions include Kunsthalle Tübingen (2024); MARe Bucharest, Romania (2021); Sprengel Museum, Hannover (2016); Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich (2016); Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen (2015); Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle (2014); Ravensburg Art Museum, Ravensburg (2013); Whitechapel Gallery, London (2013); GEM Museum for Contemporary Art, The Hague (2011); Kestnergesellschaft, Hanover, (2009); Kunstmuseum Bonn (2009) and the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2008). Their works are included in public collections including the Pinakothek der Moderne, the Kupferstichkabinett Dresden and Gemeente Museum The Hague.
Born 1973 in Kronstadt / Brasov, Romania
Live and work in Cologne, Germany
Selected solo exhibitions
2025
Gert & Uwe Tobias: So Oder So, Knust Kunz, Munich, Germany
2024
Gert and Uwe Tobias, Kunsthalle Tubingen, Tubingen, Germany
Gert & Uwe Tobias: Symønster, Nils Stærk, Copenhagen, Denmark
2023
Gert & Uwe Tobias: An Ocean in Between the Waves, Semiose, Paris, France
2022
Not a Drop Left, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
2021
Concordia discors, museum MARe Bucharest, Romania
2020
Gert & Uwe Tobias – All Your Secrets, Cassina Projects, Milano, Italy
Gert & Uwe Tobias, Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
2019
Black Wind Blowing, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
Gert & Uwe Tobias – ladder without tree, Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
Enough Room To Swing a Cat, Nils Stærk, Copenhagen, Denmark
2018
Auf, Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, Oberhausen, Germany
Not Enough Room to Swing a Cat, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin
Gert & Uwe Tobias, Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong
2017
Gert & Uwe Tobias, Galerie Radolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
2016
Gert & Uwe Tobias, Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Germany
Grisaille, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
Gert & Uwe Tobias, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
2015
Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany
2014
Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium
2013
Kunstmuseum Ravensburg, Ravensburg, Germany
Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK
Windsor Gallery, Vero Beach, USA
2012
FRAC Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France
Dresdner Paraphrasen, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
Dresdner Paraphrasen, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden
Gert & Uwe Tobias, Der Kunstverein, seit 1817., Hamburg, Germany
2011
Maureen Paley, London, UK
Gert & Uwe Tobias, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
GEM Museum for Contemporary Art, The Hague, The Netherlands
Grimm Fine Art, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Kunstaele, Berlin, Germany
2010
Gert & Uwe Tobias, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, UK
Team Gallery, New York, USA
Wilhelm Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen am Rhein
2009
La Conservera, Murcia, Spain
The Breeder, Athens, Greece
Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy
Kestnergesellschaft, Hannover, Germany
Farblithographien, Griffelkunstvereinigung Hamburg St Pauli, Hamburg, Germany
Die Mappe, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
Zurück nach Vorwärts Zu, Kunsthalle Wien project space, Vienna, Austria
Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf, Switzerland
2008
Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Der Osten im Norden des Westens, Team Gallery, New York, USA
2007
Projects 86, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
Utstillingsplakater, Bergen Kunsthall, gallery No. 5, Bergen, Norway
If you build it they will come, Brukenthal Museum, Sibiu, Russia
Wohin der Hase läuft, Galerie Michael Janssen, Berlin, Germany
Nichts brennt an, nichts kocht über, Kunstverein Heilbronn, Heilbronn, Germany
Die Hora nimmt kein Ende, Sprüth Magers Projekte, Munich, Germany
2006
N.S.,K.A.,C.G.,O.R.,F.Y., Galerie Michael Janssen, Cologne, Germany
The Happy Lion Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Hammer Projects, UCLA Hammer Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA
Welcome, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
2005
Roswitha meets Dionysos, The Breeder, Athens, Greece
Servus, Galerie Eva Winkeler, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Peter Mertes Stipendium 2004 (with Robert Elfgen), Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn, Germany
2004
Come and see before the Tourists will do – The Mystery of Transylvania, Galerie Michael Janssen, Cologne, Germany
In eigener Sache – oder noch etwas Kaffee, noch etwas Milch, Kunstgruppe e.V., Cologne, Germany
2003
Zurück nach vorwärts zu, (curated by Georg Elben), Kunstrasen, Das Kuratorenfeld, Düsseldorf, Germany
Schnitt, Ausstellungsraum, Cologne, Germany
Selected group exhibitions
2025
Dynamic Duos: The Art of Working in Pairs, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, New York Public Library, New York, USA
A Sudden Sense of Liberty, Berthold Pott, Cologne, Germany
2024
Love is Louder, BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgium
Summer Album, Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong
Nikos Alexiou. The Collection, Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
Giants, Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
2022
Strange Attractors. The Anthology of Interplanetary Folk Art, Apalazzo Gallery, Brescia, Italy (ongoing)
Sisters & Brothers – 500 Jahre Geschwister in der Kunst, Kunsthalle Tübingen, Germany (ongoing)
2020
Nur Nichts Anbrennen Lassen. New presentation of the collection, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany
2019
Rehang: Archives, Collezzione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy
Groetjes uit Knokke – summer project at the Belgian seaside, Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
Cutting edge, Museum August Macke Haus, Bonn, Germany
NICO – Wie kann die Luft so schwer sein an einem Tag an dem der Himmel so blau ist, Institut für moderne Kunst, Nürnberg, Germany
Showroom, Galerie Supper, Baden-Baden, Germany
2018
Artists against AIDS, Bundeskulturelle, Bonn, Germany
Contemporary Positions, LH2 Contemporary, Berlin, Germany
Geheimnis der Dinge – Malstücke, Beck & Eggling International Fine Art, Dusseldorf, Germany
Collection Philara, Philara – Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst, Dusseldorf, Germany
Youtoo, Kunstgruppe, Cologne, Germany
Daniel Guzman, Michael Kvium, Gert & Uwe Tobias, Nils Stærk Contemporary Art, Copenhagen, Denmark
2017
To bid or not to bid, Thomas Brambilla, Bergamo, Italy
birds, cigarettes, guitars, eyes and trees, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
Wahnsinn, Kunstgruppe, Cologne, Germany
Ton Scherben Steine, Thomas Rehbein Galerie, Cologne, Germany
Elective Affinities, Arsenlas Exhibition Hall of the Latvian National Museum of Art (LNMA), Riga, Latvia
2016
Cafe Pittoresque, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
Acchrochage, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
Elective Affinities – German Art Since the Late 1960s, Latvian National Museum of Arts, Riga, Latvia
Royal Academy of Arts – Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
The Snoring Princess Kunstgruppe, Cologne, Germany
2015
Aspects of German Art (Part One)-Revisited, Ben Brown Fine Arts-Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Disegno, The art of drawing for the 21st century, Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden, Germany
Sammlung mit losen Enden, Kunst aus NRW, Aachen, Germany
Des Visages, des figures, FRAC – Auvergne, Clermont Ferrand, France
Art In Music – Werke aus der ACT Art Collection Weserburg, Museum für moderne Kunst, Bremen, Germany
Paper is part of the picture. Europäische Künstlerpapiere von Albrecht Dürer bis Gerhard Richter, Leopold Hoesch Museum, Düren, Germany
2014
Bäume in der zeitgenössischen Kunst, ALTANA Kulturstiftung im Sinclair-Haus, Bad Homburg, Germany
How Soon Was Now – A Brief History of CFA, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
Freundliche Übernahme. Künstler zeigen ihre Sammlung, MARTa Herford, Herford, Germany
Esprit d´une collection, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Libourne, Libourne, France
Lob der Grafik, Galerie Doris Hölder, Ravensburg, Germany
ON&ON&ON, Kunstgruppe, Cologne, Germany
Front Row, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany
2013
Ruhe-Störung. Streifzüge durch die Welten der Collage, Museum Marta Herford, Herford, Germany
Back to Earth, Herbert Gerisch-Stiftung, Neumünster, Germany
My kind of Disneyland, Märkisches Museum Witten, Witten, Germany
NUR HIER. Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Andratx on Paper, Centro Cultural Andratx, Andratx, Spain
17 / 13, Kunstgruppe Kunstverein Köln, Cologne, Germany
Rien faire et laisser rire, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
Neue Editionen, Galerie Sabine Knust, Munich, Germany
Florence and Daniel Guerlain Donation, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
2012
Print/Out, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
Punkt.Systeme – Vom Pointillismus zum Pixel, Wilhelm Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen, Germany
FULL HOUSE, Kunstgruppe Kunstverein Köln, Cologne, Germany
Collaborations & Interventions, Centro Cultural Andratx, Andratx, Spain
2011
GESAMTKUNSTWERK: NEW ART FROM GERMANY, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Kunstgruppe präsentiert: Too Much, Kunstgruppe Kunstverein Köln, Cologne, Germany
Zainen en Wieden, Cobra Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2010
Neues Rheinland. Die postironische Generation, Schloss Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany
Hareng Saur: Ensor and Contemporary Art, SMAK Gent, Ghent, Belgium
Permanent Trouble. Kunst aus der Sammlung Kopp München, Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg, Germany
Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg, Germany
Säen und Jäten. Volkskultur in der zeitgenössischen Kunst, Städtische Galerie Bietigheim-Bissingen, Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany
Schnittstelle Druck, Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst / Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig, Germany
VON MIR AUS, Kunstgruppe Kunstverein, Cologne, Germany
2009
Säen und Jäten, Städtische Galerie Ravensburg, Ravensburg
State of Mind, Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Turin, Italy
Dead Lines, von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal, Germany
Germania, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
2008
Wunderkammer, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
50 Moons of Saturn, T2 – Triennale d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy
In Holz geschnitten: Werke von Edvard Munch bis heute, Kunsthalle Emden, Emden, Germany
Abstrakt, Museum Moderner Kunst Kärnten MMKK, Klagenfurt, Austria
I bought the Brooklyn Bridge, Zehn Jahre Erwerbungen der Graphischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, Germany
2007
Idylle Traum und Trugschluss, Galerie der Stadt Remscheid, Remscheid, Germany
Sublime: Experiences and Perceptions in Contemporary Sculpture, Pilar Parra & Romeo, Madrid, Spain
Makers and Modelers. Works in Ceramic, Gladstone Gallery, New York, USA
Made in Germany. Aktuelle Kunst aus Deutschland, Kestnergesellschaft, Sprengel Museum und Kunstverein, Hannover, Germany
50° 06’ 36, 40 N; 8° 40’ 42, 24 O, Galerie Eva Winkeler, Frankfurt on the Main, Germany
Blood Meridian, (curated by David Hunt), Galerie Michael Janssen, Berlin, Germany
Return to Form, (with Thomas Kiesewetter, Tal R, Thomas Scheibitz), Patricia Low Contemporary, Gstaad, Switzerland
2006
M*A*S*H, (curated by David Hunt), Cottelston Advisor/ Michael Sellinger, Miami, USA
Tauschgeschäft, Galerie Eva Winkeler, Frankfurt Main, Germany
Idylle. Traum und Trugschluss, Sammlung Falckenberg, Hamburg. Galerie Radolphe Jansesen, Brussels, Belgium
I love my country but I think we should start seeing other people, Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco, USA
BOISTEROUS!, Andersen-S Contemporary Art, Copenhagen, Denmark
Motion on Paper, Ben Brown Fine Arts, London, UK
The Monty Hall Problem, (curated by Slater Bradley) Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, USA
Loveless, (with David Ratcliff, Lane Twitchell), Team Gallery, New York, USA
2005
10 Years!, Galerie Michael Janssen, Cologne, Germany
Künstlerbrüder – von den Dürers zu den Duchamps, (curated by Dr. Leon Krempel), Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany
7, Sprüth Magers Lee, London, UK
dead/ undead, Galerie Six Friedrich & Lisa Ungar, Munich
La Beauté de l’Enfer, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
Skulls. Images in the Face of Death, Schönewald Fine Arts, Xanten, Germany
Der Kunst ihre Räume, Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn, Germany
2004
Werke, die wir schon lange (wieder) einmal sehen wollten, Elisabeth Kaufmann Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
2003
Nur vom Feinsten, Galerie der HBK Braunschweig, Brunswick, Germany
Foreplay, Ritter/ Zamet, London, UK
Identität schreiben, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Leipzig, Germany
Bis ans Ende der Welt, Kunstverein Konstanz, Constance, Germany
Malerei II Austellung Nulldrei, Galerie Christian Nagel, Cologne, Germany
2002
X-Wohnungen, Theater der Welt, Duisburg, Germany
2001
Neue Besen kehren gut, Städtische Galerie Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany
Enter, Kunststiftung Baden-Würrtemberg, Stuttgart, Germany
Heimaten, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Leipzig, Germany
Germania, Palazzo delle Papesse Centro Arte Contemporanea, Siena, Italy
