born 1986
lives and works in Frankfurt am Main
Multimedia Artist and Educator
Master of Arts Philipps-University Marburg
Fabian Schäfer is an interdisciplinary artist and theorist. His multimedia practice operates at the intersection of eco-art, queer ecology, posthuman theory, and new materialism. In his work, he explores the relationship between humans, nature, and the unconscious as an interwoven field of material, psychic, and socio-ecological processes, developing a research-based practice that combines artistic production with theoretical inquiry. At the core of his work are the relationships between human and non-human actors, as well as the investigation of urban and natural ecologies. Schäfer works across media, including installation, printmaking, sculpture, and process-based formats. His methodology is grounded in field research, observation, and experimental engagement with materials, often incorporating organic elements such as fungi or lichens. Alongside his artistic practice, Schäfer contributes to lectures and theoretical discourse, including at the conference “Verwoben” at the International Psychoanalytic University Berlin and at “Zoöp Connections: Residencies, Regeneration and Cultural Relations” at the Nieuwe Instituut. He has been an artist-in-residence at Zoöp Connections (Amsterdam) and Medienfrische (Austria), and has exhibited his work in, among other places, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. As part of the collective mania, Schäfer works collaboratively on forms of artistic counter-research and alternative knowledge practices, and is also active in curatorial and discursive contexts, including panel discussions and transdisciplinary art festivals.
Exhibitions
2025 ”becoming with“, solo exhibition, Werkbund Hessen, Frankfurt am Main
2025 ”Concrete Ecologies“, solo exhibition, De Ceuvel, Amsterdam
2025 ”Wir sind nicht die einzige Art von Wir“, solo exhibition, Gallery-Bund Offenbacher Künstler, Offenbach am Main
2024 ”Zweitheiten“, group exhibition, Netzwerk Seilerei, Frankfurt am Main
2024 ”Dif_fusion“, group exhibition, Alte Schmelze, Frankfurt am Main
2022 ”Leer-Zeiten“, solo exhibition, 17qm Gallery, Marburg
2022 Kunsttage, group exhibition, Marburg-Biedenkopf
2020 Artinea 2020, group exhibition, Schloss Rauischholzhausen
2020 ”Zwischen-Welten“, group exhibition, IKJG e.V., Marburg
2019 ”Eine künstlerische Reise in die Psychedelik“, group exhibition, Q Marburg
Artist in Residence:
2025 Zoöp Connections, De Ceuvel Amsterdam, Goethe-Institut and EUNIC Netherlands
2024 Medienfrische - new media and experimental art, Bschlabertal, Austria
Artist Talks and Lectures:
2025 ”Zoöp Connections: Residencies, Regeneration and Cultural Relations“, Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam
2025 ”What is a Zoöp? Non-human Perspectives in Art and Urban Ecology“, Werkbund Hessen, Frankfurt am Main
2025 ”Interwoven: Subjects Beyond Autonomy and Dissolution“, interdisciplinary conference, International Psychoanalytic University Berlin, Lecture: “Puma Runa: Entangled Subjectivity, Indigenous Epistemologies, and the Knowledge Potential of Eco-Art“
2025 ”Between Nature and Culture: Why We Need New Narratives“, BOK Gallery, Offenbach am Main
Grants:
2025 Hessian Studio Support Programme „Hessenweit“ with mania collective, basis e.V., Frankfurt am Main
Publications:
2026 “Interwoven – Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Decentralized Forms of Subjectivation,” a planned anthology, transcript Verlag, IPU Berlin
2025 Wir sind nicht die einzige Art von Wir, artist catalog, limited to 50 editions
Research expeditions:
2020 Kyrgyzstan: Nomadic Expedition
2019 Nepal: Anapurna Area
2018 Mexico: Sierra Norte – Solo Ascent, Orizaba (5,600 meters)
2016 Italy: Val Grande National Park
2016 Norway: Water Excursion by Canadian Canoe, Femundsmarka National Park
Collective:
Member and founder of the art collective „mania“
Curation:
2024 Curation and organizer of the art series „artkin groove“ by the art collective “mania”
2022 ”Anthropozän-Der Versuch einer Deutung“, Andreas L. Berg, Photo-Spectrum-Marburg
Educational Activities:
2025-2026 Culture LAB-Crespo Foundation, Land Art Project—Kinderhaus Nied, Frankfurt am Main
2023-2024 Director of the Gallus Sculpture Workshop for Juvenile Offenders, Frankfurt am Main