Kai Althoff

Kai Althoff was born in Cologne, Germany, in 1966. He is a multimedia artist, painter, and musician. Althoff borrows from history, religious iconography, and countercultural movements to create imaginary environments in which paintings, sculpture, drawing, video, and found objects commingle. Althoff has collaborated with other artists such as Lutz Braun, Yair Oelbaum, and Isa Genzken to create site-specific installations, dramatic plays, and performances. As a musician, he has released solo albums under monikers such as Fanal, Engelhardt/Seef/Davis Coop. or Ashley's, as well as with other groups. Together with Christoph Rath, Stefan Mohr, and Stephan Abry he co-founded the band Workshop.


Althoff has been the subject of solo exhibitions worldwide, including at the Vancouver Art Gallery; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Kunsthalle Zürich; and Simultanhalle, Cologne. He has shown work in numerous group exhibitions including the 2004 Venice Biennale; Drawing Now at the Museum of Modern Art in New York; Chère Paintre, Liebe Maler, Dear Painter at the Pompidou Centre in Paris; andA Perilous Space at Magnani in London. He is represented by Gladstone Gallery in New York, Christian Nagel in Cologne, and Galerie NEU in Berlin.

SHOWS