Master of Irony: Conny Maier Speaks The Language Everyone Understands.

Hi Conny. Who are you?

I am a Berlin based artist. I do paintings, zines and a lot of drawings. I am also a proud part of lookylooky posse, an exclusive streetwear brand from Berlin which I founded with 2 of my best friends almost 8 years ago.

I mostly know you through your work with lookylooky, which is predominantly vector based. Tell me about painting?

I started drawing ever since I could. Focussing on painting was alway the big dream of mine and I finally started realizing it 5 years ago.

Your latest body of work is entitled Coke First. What is that supposed to mean?

With Coke First I addresses critical topics of the western world, such as poverty, loneliness, social conflict and the dealings with distraction through consumption. The socio-cultural nature of my work and my humour unmask the often artificial construction of social systems.

Your works are quite large. How long does one piece take to complete?

It takes from 3 weeks to a month because I need to re-think and observe the painting. It is a process to feel and to know when it is finish and what is missing on it. Usually I love it during the first period working on it and then I start hating it. Which is useful for developing.

How do you know when it’s done?

It is done when I am having a feeling of peace with it. As I said before when I start hating it we have to become friends again. When this happens, the painting is finished. If the situation of not liking the work doesn’t happen it wouldn’t become a good artwork in the end. I have to have the critical feeling of a total fail.

Your work is loaded with irony. Why?

Irony is maybe just the biggest part of my personality. It is also a language everybody is able to understand.

What’s your approach to using colour?

Peaky forms combining with ugliness but a bit of a holiday colour has to be in the painting.

How do you separate your time between Looky Looky and your personal projects?

It is not hard to make a difference between my art and lookylooky beacuse it is a totally different workwise.

Don’t tell me you’re a dj too.

I wouldn’t call it djing. We’re just playing as a Dj team. Some songs we like and we think people are liking them too. We are totally unable to do proper cross fade but this is not the important thing when we are playing for people in my opinion. Also everybody knows that we are not the champs in technical skills but we are able to push some love on the dancefloor. I think this is kind of fun.

What’s next?

I did a photo diary last year about being on Ibiza for a month and trying to find a publisher for that. I am also working on my big size paintings with a hint of post social realism stuff.

See more on Conny’s Tumblr and lookylooky