Martin von Ostrowski

Semen Threequarter

Martin von Ostrowski, Semen Threequarter, 2003. Semen on acrylic on canvas. 50 x 40cm.

About Martin von Ostrowski:

He moved to Berlin, Germany in 1981 to begin his work as an artist. His work consists of paintings and performance pieces. In 1983 he co-founded the gallery “Muhesiusstraße”, which would later be called “Gras fressen.” He first gained attention for his portrait of Adolf Hitler with his own feces.

About the Piece:

Ostrowski first got the idea for using semen as paint during a series of oil paintings that depicted ejaculations in 1988. He wanted the pictures to be more authentic and took it upon himself to make it work. He freezes his semen then defrosts it when he needs it for a piece. He says he is part of the organic world by painting with his feces and semen, stating “I exist as I do digest, as I do produce semen.”