Motivation
I am captivated by the developments of the early 20th century—a time when traditions reaching back to the Middle Ages collided with the momentum and faith in progress. The breakthroughs in technology and the profound shifts in human perception following the First World War produced both captivating and dangerous dislocations.
Today, we are again living in perilous times. Although we are experiencing changes as rapid and fundamental as those at the start of the 20th century.
Fascinated by science fiction, technological progress, and the phenomenon called modernity, I want to pursue a path that is authentic and honest—one I have entered as an explorer of the emotions my creations may hold or trigger, of the connotations and resemblances that emerge in unexpected ways.
Exploration through creation: my drive for creativity has always preceded any formal or art-historical classification. Deliberately—and with the conviction that comparing oneself in advance may hinder personal expression—I continuously rethink and refine my own techniques and approaches.
In seeking to understand the building blocks of our reality, I approach creation as a form of investigation. Precisely because our world is increasingly shaped by technology and machines, we should provide alternative perspectives —a visual language that reveals what might otherwise remain hidden.
In reflecting on my work, I find resonance with the tradition of Constructivism—not in terms of formal imitation, but in the spirit of seeking structure, function, and social relevance in artistic creation.
At the same time, I might also describe my approach as Deconstructivism: a way of exposing the invisible architecture of our present, making perceptible the tensions, ruptures, and hidden systems that underlie everyday life.
I do not wish to deny my background in finance and economics—on the contrary, I seek to draw from it. This background has provided me with an analytical understanding of the forces that shape our world.
The forces of capital are in motion; they act as a medium of our modern society. As a fundamental condition of survival and a driving force, money—understood as materialized trust—represents opportunity, pressure, and vacuum: it floods markets, or, when absent, leaves them dry to die.
I believe that art—echoing the spirit of the Constructivists—must not only carry aesthetic weight, but also offer functional value: it should present alternatives, spark insight, provoke challenge and ignite transformation. Art dares—because it must.
MSW - Martin Swoboda
- Austria/Vienna/Mariahilf based creator
- Degree in Economics and Law
- Exporer of the depths of the unconscious or unreconqnized things in life.
- Experimenting with new techniques
- caught faszination with industrial revolutions, industrialization processes and its implications for societies.