Case Ma'Claim

Case at Bright Festival (2012). Photo by Berta Pfirsich.
Case (Andreas von Chrzanowski. Schmalkalden (Thüringen, Germany), 23 January 1979) is an innovative and very talented German artist who is working in his factory studio in Frankfurt. Case is known for its photorealistic works which are characterized by emotions, vivid use of color, depth and the enlargement of the human body.

Case 'I worked up a nice sweat. I hope we can have another match.' (E. Honda) for POW! WOW! Japan (2015).
Case abstracts the body of its human origin and places them in another context to make room for narratives. His figurative subjects are impressing due it´s perfect finish. The pictorial purity and the narrative elements ensure that his murals worldwide impress, and come to life.

Case at WynwoodWalls/WynwoodGardens, Art Basel, Miami (2015).
Case has an artistic background. He received his degree in Art Restoration and Conservation to the Erfurt University of Applied Science. Eye for detail and working with precision is one of the talents that he has developed during his studies. In 1995 Case started working with spray cans. In his earlier works we see portraits, of human and animals, wich are mostly storytelling.

Case. Friedensbrücke Frankfurt am Main (2012).
Case is one of the four members of the Ma'Claim Crew that found its origin in Germany in 2000. Ma'Claim consists of the members Rusk, Akut (the male part of the duo Herakut), Tasso and Case. They met eachother while working on common projects and decided to collaborate. Ma'Claim since then has built a very good reputation and they can be seen as the pioneers of Photorealism in graffiti.

Case working on his mural in South Park, Los Angeles (2015).
Case his works are figurative and narrative. Through a central composition, he manages to capture the attention of the viewer. Due to the bright colors and flowing lines in the artwork it becomes a natural whole. Due to the stylistic characteristics and the affinity with the artwork it comes alive.

Case 'Power of Movement' at Novotel in Basel, Switserland (2014).
"Power" and "movement" have individually played key roles in the backbone of Case his German roots. These two terms inspired him to communicate his strong messages of unity and power by the overlaying hands.

Case 'Strike Back' at Bridge Gallery. Lörrach, Baden-Württemberg (2013)
The overlaying "movement" is not just the physical movement of the body, but it also stands for political movement. In general, Case leaves his artworks without a particular clear context. Therefore the artwork is open for interpretation and the viewer continues the remaining story or emotion depending on their own personal situation.

Case 'Rooster March' in Amsterdam (2013)
The work of Case has typical style characteristics. The pictorial purity in the work is enhanced by the bright and contrasting colors. The painterly elements are achieved by creating depth, contrast in light/dark, a smooth gradient and the use of intense colours. With simple light tones the object is placed in the foreground.The image is enhanced by a strong composition. And the contrasting elements are not only in the use of colours, but also in the clear visual language.

Case. WynwoodWalls, Wynwood, Miami (2014)
One of the characteristics that's intriguing and recognizable as Case his work, are the hands he creates. ‘Hands more or less were always a subject in my work. Hands are the universal tool to recreate our minds. Whatever you are inside you can show it through your hands. Thinking in this way offered me a wide field of themes to paint, so I started to focus more on hands then on faces. This change happened around three years ago.’ (Interview. Nicole Gordon and Case, 2015. stylabl.com)

Case 'Keep The Movement Moving!' at Stick Together Festival, Amsterdam (2013)
With these hands Case has developed a visual language which is readable worldwide. The ideal beauty is replaced by a fascinating melancholy and it features controversial elements. The high-quality narrative of strong human emotions are conduct with clear hand signals. With this universal language he creates an aspect of interpret. You can´t see the artwork without thinking about the subject. As an example, in the artwork ' The Power of Movement ' in which, besides one hand, all fists are clenched, and one hand raises two fingers with the well-known sign of ' Peace '. The power of movement in society, the power of human actions, the power of the hands.


‘The Power of Movement’ is an edition of 50 artworks. The first part has been sold in the US last year (1xrun), we now sell the last part. Each work is signed and numbered and comes with a certificate of authenticity. This is a high quality print in which the colours really come alive.

Created 02-15-2016 09:11 PM CET
Written by Johra Kornegoor