Mike Steiner: Pioneer of Contemporary Art, Video Installations, and Berlin’s Avant-Garde

Mike Steiner shaped contemporary art with bold experiments in painting, video, and performing arts. Discover his legacy, from early abstract works to major exhibitions like Hamburger Bahnhof.

What does it mean to stand at the crossroads of artistic media and to question every convention of contemporary art? Mike Steiner, whose restless creativity reverberated from the walls of Berlin’s studios to the heart of the global avant-garde, shaped this question into a multifaceted career. His work remains a touchstone for those who wish to understand the dynamic interplay between painting, video, and live performance in the second half of the 20th century.

Mike Steiner’s journey began in the divided city of Berlin, a landscape marked by both tension and possibility. With early exposure to film during his education, he quickly shifted focus to painting, making his debut at just seventeen at the Große Berliner Kunstausstellung. Even these early works hinted at the abstract language that would later define his mature output.

Yet, Steiner refused artistic stagnation. His pivotal move to New York in the mid-1960s immersed him in a crucible of international exchange, where his connections to figures such as Allan Kaprow, Al Hansen, and Robert Motherwell deepened his understanding of avant-garde aesthetics. There, influenced by Fluxus and Pop Art, he encountered contemporary giants who would pivotally inform his developing voice.

On his return to Berlin, Steiner ignited the city’s creative energy by founding the famed Hotel Steiner—a meeting place often likened to the Chelsea Hotel in New York. This unique space, frequented by Joseph Beuys and other icons, fostered both exchange and experiment. It established a fertile ground for Steiner’s intense interest in new media, especially as he gravitated from the canvas to the cathode ray tube.

His embrace of the possibilities of video was transformative. In 1974, he established the Studiogalerie, Berlin’s first independent forum for video art and performance. The venue became a crucible for the city’s most radical artistic impulses—a meeting place for the artists of Tomorrow. Steiner provided not only exhibition space but the technological means for creatives to produce and present video works, positioning himself alongside seminal artists like Marina Abramovi?, Valie Export, and Ulay. Through actions as bold as the legendary 1976 performance "Irritation — Da ist eine kriminelle Berührung in der Kunst" with Ulay, Steiner cemented his reputation as a provocateur and arch-chronicler of ephemeral artistic moments.

This period marked his deep engagement with the performing arts, where he bridged the gap between visual and time-based works. As both participant and documentarian, Steiner helped capture actions destined otherwise only for memory. His archives bear witness to the audacious spirit of Berlin’s interdisciplinary art scene—a vision comparable to the contemporaneous experiments of Nam June Paik or Bill Viola, both of whom also redefined the boundaries of video installation and moving image art.

The significance of Steiner’s archive cannot be overstated. By collecting and preserving video tapes, he ensured that a vibrant chapter of contemporary arts in Berlin would have a future life. His collection, which includes recordings from performances by Abramovi?, Export, and others, reflects not only his taste but a curatorial sensibility that placed Berlin in conversation with global trends.

Yet Steiner was never confined to the role of mediator or collector. His own output as an artist encompasses an impressive diversity of media, ranging from abstract paintings—accentuating color, form, and minimalism—to hybrid forms like Painted Tapes, which merged moving images with the tactile language of painting. Unlike contemporaries who tended to specialize, Steiner’s work is marked by a restless energy and a refusal to be limited by genre or convention. His abstract paintings produced after 2000, characterized by intense chromatic explorations and subtle textures, stand confidently alongside his earlier, more experimental video pieces.

The 1999 solo exhibition at Hamburger Bahnhof, Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, "Color Works 1995–98," was a fitting celebration of Steiner’s life-long commitment to cross-disciplinary praxis. The curation highlighted his radical approach to color and surface, while also underlining his role as a pioneer of the performing and media arts in Berlin. This major exhibition positioned him among globally recognized names like Joseph Beuys and Georg Baselitz, reinforcing his place within the canon of contemporary German art.

A glance at Steiner’s exhibition history reveals this breadth: from early participation in abstract painting salons and Berlin’s artist collectives, through to major showcases of his video works and abstract canvases at institutions from Berlin to San Francisco. His participation in landmark group shows—often alongside artists such as Richard Serra and Allan Kaprow—demonstrates the recognition he received from peers and critics alike.

Comparisons to other innovators such as Nam June Paik or Gary Hill are instructive but never fully encapsulate Steiner’s unique blend of rigorous formalism and deep empathy for artistic communities. While Paik and Hill globalized video art, Steiner rooted it firmly in the specific social and artistic fabric of Berlin, shaping both infrastructure and practice for a new generation of artists.

Throughout, Steiner’s philosophy was shaped by a belief in the democratization of art-making: breaking down barriers between disciplines, making resources available, and championing underrepresented media. His television program "Videogalerie" (1985–1990) broadcast over 120 episodes, introducing video art to a wide public and offering a rare arena for contemporary artists to present and discuss their work.

The final years of Mike Steiner’s career were marked by reflection and a return to painterly concerns, with a focus on abstract compositions and, later, textile works. Even after a stroke in 2006 limited his public appearances, Steiner continued to labor in his Berlin studio until his death in 2012, always searching for new visual rhythms and resonances.

Today, Mike Steiner’s legacy is preserved in both institutional collections and living memory—especially in Berlin, where his archives and donations to the Hamburger Bahnhof ensure his innovations remain visible and influential. His career is a vivid demonstration of art’s ability to transform itself—and its audiences—through creative risk-taking and openness to new expressive forms.

For those with an interest in contemporary art, the work of Mike Steiner is more than an historical curiosity; it is a living sourcebook for experimentation, courage, and the power of artistic community. To delve deeper into his biography, exhibition history, and see images from across his expansive oeuvre, the official website offers a window into Steiner’s enduring world of color and image.

Mike Steiner’s contributions to contemporary art are lasting and profound; to engage with his world is to rediscover the joy and challenge of art as a living practice.