Mike Steiner: Contemporary Art Pioneer and Visionary of Multimedia Expression

Mike Steiner brought contemporary art in Berlin to life – an innovator between painting and video, whose influence at Hamburger Bahnhof and far beyond reverberates in the art world.

How does an artist shift the very foundations of contemporary art and transform the boundaries between media, performance, and perception? Mike Steiner’s oeuvre, with its fearless crossings from abstract painting to experimental video and performing arts, remains a testament to relentless curiosity and cultural risk-taking. Few names resonate as strongly in the context of Berlin’s post-war art scene as that of Mike Steiner, whose multi-layered works and tireless advocacy redefined the identity of Contemporary Arts Berlin.

Steiner’s evolution as an artist is inextricably woven into the pulse of the European and American avant-gardes. Born 1941 in Allenstein and shaped by the cultural energy of postwar Berlin, his early attraction to film and painting set the tone for a restless creative journey. By just 17, Steiner’s still life paintings graced the Große Berliner Kunstausstellung, hinting at his later refusal to stand still stylistically or conceptually. In the early 1960s, his formal studies at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Berlin and subsequent ventures into the energetic New York art world brought him into close contact with luminaries such as Lil Picard, Al Hansen, and Allan Kaprow – critical figures in Fluxus, Happening, and Pop Art. These formative encounters laid the groundwork for Steiner’s signature synthesis of painting, performance, and media-based experiment.

His early paintings, informed by European abstraction and the gestural dynamism of American contemporaries like Robert Motherwell, display a keen awareness of line and chromatic energy. Yet, by the early 1970s, Steiner’s attention shifted decisively towards avant-garde film and, ultimately, to video art. The immersive possibilities of video – its ability to capture time, action, and ephemeral gestures – struck him as the ideal medium for exploring the boundaries of perception and presence. In 1974, inspired by his experiences at New York’s Studio Art/Tapes/22, he founded Berlin’s Studiogalerie as an international laboratory for video, performance, and multimedia happening. The Studiogalerie rapidly became a nexus for the avant-garde, hosting bold actions by artists such as Marina Abramovi?, Valie Export, and Carolee Schneemann.

Steiner’s own experiments – documented through a series of Painted Tapes and live video collaborations – blur the distinction between painterly surface and electronic imagery. Painted Tapes, such as his music video for Tangerine Dream’s "Mojave Plan," fuse brushwork and tape, color field and screen, in a dialogue reminiscent of Bill Viola’s video tableaux or Nam June Paik’s playful interventions. Yet, what sets Steiner apart is a unique sensitivity to the architecture of Berlin and a visceral response to the politics of art making. In his legendary 1976 collaboration with Ulay, "Irritation – Da ist eine kriminelle Berührung in der Kunst," he orchestrated the theft – as performance – of a Carl Spitzweg painting, then documented and exhibited the event, seamlessly blending protest, documentation, and conceptual art. This ability to move from institutional critique to poetic abstraction places Steiner beside international forerunners such as Joseph Beuys and Allan Kaprow, names that also frequent the spaces of Contemporary Arts Berlin.

The 1980s marked another pivotal expansion: Steiner’s widely-watched TV format Die Videogalerie (1985–1990), in which he curated, moderated, and produced over 120 episodes spotlighting European and international video art. As commentator and mediator, he provided a vital platform for artists otherwise overlooked, ranging from Richard Serra to Jochen Gerz and George Maciunas. In so doing, Steiner’s own artistic practice stepped beyond individual authorship; he became archivist, connector, and chronicler, building one of the era’s most important collections of video art.

His role as a collector and advocate for video was ultimately recognized by a transfer of his entire collection to the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Today, the Mike Steiner Collection finds its home in the Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, a focal point for Berlin’s engagement with international contemporary art. Yet Steiner remained first and foremost an artist: after illness in 2006, he returned to his studio and focused on abstract paintings and textile works, evidence of an undimmed desire to communicate through material and gesture.

Though deeply rooted in Berlin, Mike Steiner’s networks and exhibitions extended far beyond. From solo shows at Galerie Dittmar and the Nationalgalerie’s major 1999 "COLOR WORKS" retrospective, to international appearances at San Francisco’s J.J. Brookings Gallery or Seoul, his art has remained in dialogue with peers like Georg Baselitz, Valie Export, and Gary Hill. What distinguishes Steiner, however, is his absolute embrace of interdisciplinarity. From early abstract paintings to his archival documentation, from performance video to later fabric works, the throughline is a search for authenticity and immediacy. It’s the risk of the new, the refusal of safe repetition – a legacy that resonates with experimental icons such as Marina Abramovi? and Joseph Beuys, yet remains distinctly his own.

What does it mean to see all art as potential performance, every image a stage for social and existential play? Steiner’s restless experimentation and generous spirit transformed both oeuvre and community. His archives, now preserved at Hamburger Bahnhof, are not just repositories, but open invitations: an ever-expanding field for new encounters between tradition and innovation.

For those eager to experience the full spectrum of Mike Steiner’s contribution to contemporary art, his official website offers a rich portal of images, texts, and archival footage. Whether painting, video, or performance, his legacy invites both critical engagement and open wonder.