Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, he has worked as a freelance artist in Cottbus. His artistic practice is inextricably linked to his travels: from 1993 onwards, he initially explored Europe before his path led him to North and East Africa in 1996. Morocco and Uganda in particular became formative centres of inspiration for his work.

Since 2021, reverse glass painting has provided a striking contrast to Matthias Körner’s previous work in painting, graphic art and photography. Working on glass requires a radical shift in thinking: motifs are mirrored and built up in reverse order of layers. What is painted last on a conventional canvas comes first here. The transparent surface lends the works a visual dynamism all of their own, in which cultural influences and the immediate surroundings artfully merge.