# Matthias Franz: *die dünne Haut der Zivilisation*

Sep 9 – Oct 31, 2026 · on view

Oil paintings of surreal historical scenes—cloaked figures adrift at sea, children before an empty bandstand—questioning Enlightenment ideals.

Franz, who studied under Daniel Richter in Vienna, paints uncanny scenes drawn from literature and history: cloaked figures adrift on a yellow sea beneath a saluting Napoleonic officer, and children gazing up at an empty bandstand crowded with unplayed instruments.

Battered typewriters stamped with Hamlet’s name play on feigned madness and the distortions of translation, while the retro Ecstasy paintings nod to Norbert Schwontkowski, rehanging portraits of power on fragile scaffolding.

Full details: [grimmgallery.com](https://grimmgallery.com/exhibitions/377-matthias-franz-die-dunne-haut-der-zivilisation/)

## At [Grimm](https://onview.so/manhattan/grimm.md)

Gallery in Tribeca, New York City.

- Address: 54 White Street, New York, NY 10013
- Hours: Tue–Fri 11–6
- Website: https://grimmgallery.com
- Directions: <https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Grimm%2C%2054%20White%20Street%2C%20New%20York%2C%20NY%2010013>
- On the map: https://onview.so/manhattan/map/grimm

---

On View's listing, as of Tuesday, October 13, 2026. This page: https://onview.so/manhattan/grimm/die-dunne-haut-der-zivilisation. Every gallery and museum in New York City: https://onview.so/manhattan.md. All of On View: https://onview.so/llms.txt