MARTIN EDER
PAINTER
The Mandrake Welcomes Berlin-based Painter, Martin Eder, To The Renowned Artist in Residence Series
– 10th to 17th December, 2024
From Tuesday, 10th to Tuesdsay, 17th December, Martin Eder will take up residency at The Mandrake Hotel in Fitzrovia, creating a new painting inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula using the hotel’s gothic features as a backdrop. Eder’s work will explore the mysterious character of the hotel, blending it with his own distinctive anti-conformist style and the dark romantic cultural themes that run through this cult narrative.
Guests are welcome to visit the hotel throughout the week to observe Martin at work, but we will open our doors for an official open studio on 12th December from 5-7 pm. During this time, the artist will be available to answer questions about his progress and experience thus far at The Mandrake. Discussion and debate are encouraged in an open and welcoming environment
RSVP via rsvp@themandrake.com.
Open Studio
About The Collaboration
A musician at heart, Eder’s background in metal and goth culture plays a huge role in shaping his artistic identity. His rebellious, non-conformist spirit aligns with the ethos of The Mandrake, a place known for embracing creative subversion. During Frieze 2024, Eder visited the hotel at a time of vibrant cultural exchange in London, laying the foundation for his upcoming residency. A provocative photoshoot, held in one of the hotel’s most intriguing suites, helped establish the vision for the painting, which he will complete in oils during his November stay.
Eder infuses his work with a dramatic intensity, driven by his fascination with society’s darker side. This piece will vividly capture both the eerie atmosphere of The Mandrake and its connection to the wider cultural landscape.
About The Body Of Work
Bram Stoker’s Dracula explores the tension between dark and light, modernity and ancient tradition, and delves into themes of sexuality and madness. These dualities resonate strongly with The Mandrake Hotel’s design philosophy, which is known for blending opulence with the eerie and unconventional. This makes the hotel a fitting backdrop and studio for Martin Eder’s fantastical artistic process.
With his surreal, mystical oil paintings, Eder seeks to reflect the contradictions of contemporary society—where the strange and the beautiful coexist naturally in spaces like The Mandrake, a place known for transcending the everyday. His work challenges the boundaries between the subliminally evil, the destructive, and the outwardly beautiful. Both unsettling and captivating, Eder’s paintings create a world where common perceptions unravel, drawing viewers into a space where realism clashes with bold artificiality and provocation. This tension is central to The Mandrake’s ethos, making Eder’s residency a perfect match for the hotel’s unique atmosphere.
More About HforSpirit
Martin Eder (www.martineder.com) is a Berlin-based artist, known as the master of surreal kitsch. With his absurd, mystical and pictorial oil paintings, he aims to visualize the ambiguous character of our society. His residency at The Mandrake feels to be a natural alignment with the property’s own design-led concept, which offers a space wholly removed from the mundane every day. He is particularly interested in undermining the boundaries between the subliminal evil, the destructive and the supposedly beautiful. Eerie and fascinating at the same time, his paintings outline a space marked by the collapse of a common perception. Eder’s paintings are garishly provocative and create a tension between realism and jarring artificiality.
“I’ve often had to explain that I don’t paint cats. No. I don’t paint naked people, asses or sunsets either. I paint what’s left of it. The nuclear radiation. I paint the afterimage, the burn-in image.”
– Martin Eder
“Martin Eder perfectly embodies the spirit of our Artist-in-Residence Program,” says Maguelone Marcenac, Creative Director and Founder. “His connection to the gothic tradition, combined with his rebellious, genre-defying approach to art, makes his residency a natural fit with The Mandrake’s rich cultural heritage. We’re excited to see how his innovative expression interacts with the unique environment of our hotel.”
We look forward to welcoming you and inviting you to immerse yourself in our
Artist in Residence programme with Martin Eder.
The Mandrake’s Artist in Residence Programme
Curated and managed by Maguelone Marcenac @scanadully