01 / Matter
Matter becomes image.
Microscopic material study / Magnificent Matter
Our artistic practice
We work with
matter in motion.
Magnificent Matter is an artistic practice working with microscopy. We observe liquids and pigments, then bring these images into performances, installations, films and prints.
Move through the scales ↓
02 / Space
Image changes a space.
Circular microscopic projections between trees / Magnificent Matter
03 / Shared experience
A space becomes shared.
Audience at the German Pavilion / EXPO 2025 Osaka
A closer look at matter.
Microscopic material study / Magnificent Matter
Material & process
Small processes.
Open outcomes.
We prepare the conditions and work with what happens under the lens. Materials mix, separate and form new structures. Light and magnification turn these changes into a visual language.
Our work connects the intimacy of a microscope with the scale of a shared experience. The physical behaviour of the material remains part of the image.
From specimen to shared experience
A practice across scales.
Observe
We prepare the conditions and watch what happens under the lens. Liquids and pigments mix, separate and form new structures.
Translate
Light, magnification and image-making turn these changes into a visual language. A small material process can become a field that fills a room.
Compose
We work with the relationships between image, music, space and attention. The form grows from the setting and the people involved.
Produce
We develop the artistic concept and define the technical conditions together. The work can unfold live or take the form of a film, an artwork or an installation.
Inside the process
Conditions, then chance.
We prepare the liquids, light and magnification. Once the process begins, the material keeps its own behaviour: spreading, separating and forming new structures. The image can be guided while its outcome remains open.
Image and music in dialogue.
In our live collaborations, musicians and microscopic imagery leave room for one another. Piano, voice and electronic textures can move beside the image, giving a small visual change time to unfold.
Instruments & experimentation
Making the tools
to follow an idea.
We work with research-grade microscopy, develop our own AI systems and build custom software and hardware. Making our own instruments helps us follow ideas beyond the limits of existing tools.
Technology enters the creative process alongside material, light and sound. The starting point is a question about what we can observe, make perceptible and share.
Magnificent Matter / Berlin
Art and science.
A shared practice.
We are Maximilian Schertz and Alexander Poletajev, a Berlin-based artist collective connecting art and science through microscopy.
Maximilian Schertz
Creative Director
Alexander Poletajev
Scientific Director
Practice in context
From close observation
to a room of people.
On a dome, a stage or a screen, scale changes how we encounter an image. Our projects explore this relationship through collaboration with musicians, cultural spaces and scientific partners.
Explore selected work ↗
Working together
A question can
become a shared experience.
Explore the formats our practice can take, from live microscopy and spatial installations to films, campaign identities and print.
Explore formats ↗