Now based in Berlin, Adrian Ghenie is one of a notable influx of painters from the former Soviet bloc, where figuration never fell from favour as in the West. His expansive dream-world scenes are created entirely without brushes (his preference being for palette knives and stencils). Ghenie is co-founder of the Fabrica de Pensule in Cluj, a community of contemporary artists based in a former paintbrush factory and equipped with an art library and studio space that provides ‘a common playground for discussion’. The latest in a sequence of solo shows at big-hitting institutions will open at CAC Málaga in December.
More from 40 Under 40 Europe
Ragnar Kjartansson
38, Reykjavík, Iceland
Sam Thorne
30. Artistic director, Tate St Ives Cornwall, UK
Rose-Marie Mousseaux
34. Director, Musée Cognacq-Jay Paris, France
Idris Khan
35, London, UK