Max Zorn’s artworks have appeared at art fairs, galleries and museums internationally drawing collectors worldwide.
Below is a full list of exhibitions. Selected highlights link to more detailed coverage. A narrative of Zorn’s artistic career follows, offering deeper context on his work and practice.
Artist Max Zorn performing live at District 13 art fair
Upcoming Tape Art Exhibitions
ArtMUC: Art Fair in Munich / Germany
October 18.-20.
More info soon….
Past Exhibitions, projects and art fairs
2025
Solo Show “Five Nights”, Amsterdam (NL), April 14.-18th 2025, with @gallery and Stick Together gallery. More info here
2024
Scope International Art Fair, Miami Beach, December 5.-10th during Art Basel Miami, with Stick Together Gallery, booth B025
Hill-Stead Museum: Farmington (USA), Nov. 16th – spring 2025, as part of the Arethusa Collection: From Italian Renaissance to Contemporary British Art. More info here
2023
Solo Exhibition, Fort Worth (USA), Find out more about the exhibition at The Gallery at Bowie House here.
Group Exhibition “Art Materialism”, London (UK), 20 Oct – 6 Now 2023, with Catto Gallery. More info here
Museum Exhibition (Extended)– Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art (MUCA), Munich (Germany), January – September 2023. With more than 25 large scale works this is by far the most comprehensible collection of Max Zorn’s artworks to date, brought together by Germany’s first Street Art Museum in the heart of Munich. More info here.
2022
Museum Exhibition: “City Tales”, Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art (MUCA), Munich (Germany), Opening 21./22. October, Running until September 2023. With more than 25 large scale works this is by far the most comprehensible collection of Max Zorn’s artworks to date, brought together by Germany’s first Street Art Museum in the heart of Munich. Find more info here.
Scope International Art Fair: Miami Beach (USA), November 29th – December 4th, during Art Basel Miami, with Stick Together Gallery. More info here
District 13 Art Fair: Paris (France), September 15. – 18th with Stick Together Gallery
2019
Art Basel Miami, Scope Miami Beach (USA), together with Stick Together Gallery. Dec. 3th – 8th.
Art New York 2019 (New York/USA), with Elka Bronner Gallery. May. 2nd – 5th.
2018
Art Basel Miami – Scope Miami Beach (USA), together with Stick Together Gallery. Dec. 4th-9th.
Tape Art Convention 2018 (Berlin/Germany) – Neurotitan Galerie. July 8th – 28th
Solo Exhibition: Max Zorn – Tape art – Frank Gehry towers (Duesseldorf/Germany).
Markus Lüpertz und Günter Netzer looking at a Max Zorn tape artwork
2017
Art Basel Miami – Aqua Art fair (USA), with Stick Together Gallery. Dec. 7 – 10th.
Moniker Art Fair – London (UK). The Old Truman Brewery, London. 5 – 8 October.
CBS Sunday Morning – nationwide USA television feature
Art Basel Miami – Stick Together – Scope Miami Beach
2016
Aqua Art Miami (Miami/USA). Solo booth with Stick Together Gallery. Nov 30th – Dec 4th.
Art Cologne (Cologne/Germany). Solo booth with Stick Together Gallery. Oct. 26.-30th
Moniker Art Fair (London/UK). at London Art Week. October 6th – 9th. London Art Week.
BBC News – Tape Artist Max Zorn Unbound by Time and Place
Tape Art Convention (Berlin, Germany). Neurotitan Galerie.Oct.10th – Nov 5th.
International Art Fair Zurich (Switzerland). Sept.29th – Oct. 2nd. Kongresshaus Zürich.
Art and Architecture Vol. 1 (Krefeld, Germany), Sept. 2016. Mies van der Rohe Business Park.
“Dein Viertel. Deine Leinwand.” (Munich, Germany). with MUCA gallery Munich and Red Bull.
StreetArtFest Grenoble (France) – June 8th – 26th, Spacejunk Grenoble, with Anthony Lister, Augustine Kofie, C215 and many more.
KSL 2016 (Dinslaken/Germany) – June 17th – 18th. each 12.oo – 18.oo h.
KUNSTabend „Von Contemporary bis Urban Art” (Munich) – June 2016, at Tresor Vinum.
Stroke Artfair (Munich), with Urban Art Now and MUCA. May 4th – 8th, Praterinsel.
AAF Singapore (Singapore), April 22.-24th , Formula 1 Pit building.
TEDx Talk Munich, together with Max Zorn’s manager Audrey Sykes (VIDEO)
Dubai Canvas 2016 (Dubai/UAE). March 1st-14th. Jumeirah Beach Walk, Dubai
2015
Spectrum Art Fair during Art Basel Miami: December 2 – 6, SPECTRUM Miami Tent, 3011 NE 1st Avenue
CNN TV feature: Interview with Max Zorn – What is Tape Art?
Annual Group Show (Dampkring Gallery Amsterdam): 12 dec – 27 jan 2016
“Whatsappropriation” (Fundição Progresso), group show in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
“Reimagined” Cornell museum of arts (Delray Beach/USA). July 14th – Oct. 18th.
Berliner Liste 2015 (art fair Berlin/Germany): Sept. 17.– 20. Kraftwerk Berlin
Art Cologne: 24. – 27. September, With Urban Art Now.
Tour de Britain Exhibition: Fine Arts London (London/UK). Sept. 13. – 20.
Art 17, Benelux Street Art, 4th – 6th September, OT301, Amsterdam
AAF Hongkong with Stick Together Gallery, 22 – 24 May
Stroke Artfair (Munich): 29. April – 3. Mai 2015 / Praterinsel 3 – 4. Banksy, Shepard Fairy, Max Zorn
“Tales of another time”, solo show at MUCA (Munich): Laufzeit: 07.03. – 02.04.2015
Solo show at the Sanderson Hotel (London), 50 Berners Street, London
Vault17 opening show, group exhibition (Amsterdam): Opening 27. February
“Red”, solo show at the Original Dampkring Gallery (Amsterdam): Opening 31. January
“Tape it!”, group show at Heyne Kunst Fabrik (Offenbach / Germany): Febr. 12.
2014
Scope Miami Beach (USA): 2.-7.December
“LED there be light II”, group show at Gogallery (Amsterdam): 13. December 2014 – 30. January 2015
Amsterdam Museum Night, with Eye Film-Museum and Amsterdam Museum, curated by Streetart.nl
Blooom art fair (Cologne, Germany): 24.-27.October
ArtMuc live with MUCA. Group show with Herakut, Case, Aiko, Ben Eine, Zeus and others, Munich (Germany)
“Kunst sta(d)tt Leerraum”. Arts festival in Dinslaken (Germany)
Group show with the COLLECTIVE at West Bank Gallery, London (UK)
Stroke Artfair, with “UrbanArtNow”, Munich (Germany).
“The Living Arts” Festival, Bangkok (Thailand)
SXSW (South by Southwest) Festival, Austin / TX (USA)
(Un-)Fair artfair, New York (USA)
2013
ArtBasel Miami – Scope Miami Beach (USA)
Amsterdam Light Festival“, together with Go Gallery and the Verzetsmuseum
Blooom Artfair – Cologne (Germany), together with Go Gallery
Frankfurt Book Fair – Frankfurt (Germany), with Korsch Publisher
Name Gallery – Group show Amsterdam
“Urban & Icon” – Group show London, with Urban Art International
Valleggia Gallery – Solo show Amsterdam
Kosmopolite Art Tour – Urban Art Festival Amsterdam
“Larger than life” – Street art exhibition at Canvas op de 7e, Amsterdam
Art Monaco 2013
Stick Together: Amsterdam – Urban Art Festival Amsterdam
RAW Artfair Rotterdam, with Go Gallery
Art Stage Singapore (Singapore), with Gallery Visionairs
Group Show: Carte Blanche (Amsterdam), with Art gallery Valleggia
2012
Hong Kong International Art Fair (Hong Kong), with The Sovereign Art Foundation
Deutsche Welle / Euromaxx TV interview
Crest Hardware Show (New York)
Group Show (Amsterdam), with Go Gallery
Solo Show (Paris), with Gallery Visionairs
Street Art Fair (Toronto)
Group Show (Dortmund /Germany) at “Dortmunder U”
Princess Karina Foundation (Switzerland)
Group Show (Amsterdam), with Batallion Gallery
Group Show (Amsterdam), with Artics Gallery
Fair “I´m not a tourist” (Amsterdam)
Max Zorn at Art Basel Hong Kong
The Evolution of Tape Art: Max Zorn’s Milestones in Contemporary Street Art
2011 – Beginnings in Amsterdam
May 2011 – Amsterdam: Max Zorn enters the street art scene, creating small portraits from layers of brown packing tape and clandestinely sticking them on city street lamps (sueddeutsche.de). He refers to these early illuminated tape pieces as “stickers,” installed under cover of night to surprise the public (sueddeutsche.de). His novel approach – using only ordinary tape and a scalpel on acrylic glass – quickly garnered attention for its film-noir aesthetic. This innovative method was widely recognized as the introduction of a new form of street art, creatively harnessing city lights as his canvas. Zorn’s technique redefined the possibilities of street art by establishing packing tape and illumination as distinctive and legitimate artistic media (CBSNews, TED.com, MUCA.eu)
November 2011 – Amsterdam: Zorn uploads a YouTube video titled “Street Art by Max Zorn – Making of Tape Art,” demonstrating his tape-layering technique and how he hangs art on street lamps. The 2-minute clip goes viral, drawing national and international media coverage by early 2012 (woolffgallery.co.uk). “Many people know and love artists for their ability to create innovative, breathtaking pieces, and Max Zorn achieves this feat with ease,” one early review marveled (trendhunter.com).
2012 – First Exhibitions and Global Outreach
Spring 2012 – Hong Kong: In a pivotal debut abroad, Zorn is invited by the Sovereign Art Foundation to perform a live tape-art demonstration at the Hong Kong International Art Fair (Art HK). During the fair, he creates and auctioned a unique backlit tape portrait, which sold for double its estimated value (askart.com). The proceeds went to charity for disadvantaged children (woolffgallery.co.uk). This appearance at a major Asian art fair announced Zorn’s arrival on the international art stage and validated packing tape as a serious art medium (B Beyond Magazine).
Max Zorn creating an tape artwork live at Art Basel Hong Kong 2011.
April 2012 – Deutsche Welle Interview: Max Zorn gains international attention through an interview aired on Deutsche Welle’s “Euromaxx“. The feature highlights Zorn’s innovative use of ordinary packing tape, illuminated from behind, and showcases him installing his artworks on Amsterdam’s street lamps. During the interview, Zorn explains his artistic process, inspiration from literary figures, and his early global “Stick Together” initiative, significantly raising his profile across Europe and internationally.
July–August 2012 – New York & Europe: Zorn’s work crosses into North America with inclusion in the Crest Hardware Art Show in Brooklyn, a quirky group exhibition where artists use hardware supplies as art materials. His illuminated tape portrait hung amid other unconventional works, introducing New Yorkers to tape art. Back in Europe, he participates in urban art group shows in Dortmund’s Dortmunder U and in Amsterdam galleries (Artics and Battalion), further spreading tape art in contemporary urban venues. These early group exhibitions helped contextualize Zorn’s work within the wider street art and urban contemporary movement.
September 2012 – Switzerland: Zorn contributes to the Princess Carina Foundation’s art event in Switzerland (maxzorn.com). Here he creates a delicate tape portrait as part of a charitable gala, demonstrating the versatility of tape art beyond the street. This event, though private, resulted in one of Zorn’s first tape pieces entering a European collection, hinting at the market potential of his work.
TEDx Talk Amsterdam: “The city is my canvas, packing tape my medium”: Shortly after his first tape art video went viral, Max Zorn was invited to TEDxAmsterdam to give his first public presentation on tape art. In his captivating talk, Zorn shared his creative journey, showcased his intricate method through a detailed making-of video, and revealed several original artworks live on stage. He also introduced his “Stick Together” project, a global, interactive initiative distributing free tape art stickers to supporters worldwide, which rapidly grew into a vibrant international community around his artwork. (TEDx Talk transcript, TEDx talk Amsterdam VIDEO)
13 December 2012 – Paris: “Tape-Art” – Zorn’s first solo exhibition is held in downtown Paris in a vintage ballroom, organized by Gallery Visionairs. (kunstkulturforum). The Paris show, fittingly titled “Tape-Art,” immerses attendees in Zorn’s cinematic world of film noir-style characters rendered entirely in tape (artsy.net). French and international guests marvel at the innovation; the event marks Zorn’s transition from street installations to the fine-art gallery setting.
2012 – Going Global: Zorn launches the “Stick Together” project to spread tape art globally. He mailed out small hand-made tape “stickers” for free to fans around the world, giving them a chance to stick the art on street lamps in their cities (luxuo.com). This participatory project engaged hundreds of people and created an interactive global gallery of Zorn’s art. “It was the start of Stick Together… a project driven by urban tape artist Max Zorn and his manager Audrey Sykes to spread street art at night for free,” a TEDx talk later explained (TEDx, luxuo.com). By inviting the public to “stick” his art in places from London to Tokio, Zorn built an international community around his work. (In 2012, “Stick Together” also became the name of the in-house gallery and artist agency in Amsterdam that started representing him (en.wikipedia.org.)
2013 – Festivals, Largest Tape Artwork & Miami Debut
6–7 April 2013 – Amsterdam: Stick Together: Amsterdam – Zorn and his manager Audrey Sykes organize one of Amsterdam’s largest street art events, the Stick Together festival at the Amsterdam Roest venue (djguide.nldjguide.nl). Over two days, 20+ top European street artists (including Zed1, Case, Ottograph, TelmoMiel, Bustart and others) create live art and murals in an industrial waterfront setting (djguide.nl). Zorn headlines with a tape installation: at 9 square meters (≈96 sq ft), it’s the largest tape-art piece he had created up to this point (woolffgallery.co.uk.) “Come by, grab a beer… see some of the best urban artists in action. It’s free!” the festival flyer urged (djguide.nl) – and indeed, crowds packed the venue.
May 2013 – London & Monaco: Zorn’s work is featured in Urban & Icon (a London group show by Urban Art International) and at Art Monaco 2013 (an art fair in Monte Carlo). In these upscale settings, his tape portraits—framed in lightboxes—intrigue collectors accustomed to paintings and prints. Curators note the fresh “wow factor” that Zorn’s backlit tape art brings (en.wikipedia.org). His piece at Art Monaco, for instance, depicting a femme fatale in warm sepia tones, becomes a talking point for its unconventional medium. These spring events mark Zorn’s entry into high-profile art circuits.
Summer 2013 – Amsterdam: Zorn participates in the Kosmopolite Art Tour urban art festival and “Larger Than Life” street art exhibition at Canvas op de 7e in Amsterdam. He installs multiple translucent tape works in public spaces, including a multi-panel scene applied to windows at a popular café. The Amsterdam Museum also hoste one of Zorn’s early tape pieces around this time, placing it on display as part of an urban art initiative (en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org). This institutional recognition, having a tape artwork enter the realms of the Amsterdam Museum and later the city’s Dutch Resistance Museum, signals that Zorn’s once-secretive lamp post art has gained cultural legitimacy.
September 2013 – Frankfurt: At the Frankfurt Book Fair, Zorn collaborates with Korsch Verlag to promote an exclusive monographic calendar featuring selected works by the artist. Surrounded by literary art and design displays, his illuminated portraits stand out, drawing fair visitors (and media) into inquiries about his technique. The “Tape Art 2014” calendar by Max Zorn, published by KORSCH Verlag, was awarded the Bronze gregor international calendar award. This honor acknowledges the calendar’s artistic excellence, innovative concept, and outstanding design, highlighting Zorn’s distinctive tape artworks and their captivating interplay of light, shadow, and storytelling. Due to its success, a new calendar for 2015 was released featuring new artworks.
Dec 2013 – Miami, USA: Max Zorn’s U.S. debut during Art Basel Miami week. Stick Together Gallery hosts his first Miami showcase inside Wood Tavern in Wynwood – an informal urban art pop-up. The bar-turned-gallery is packed shoulder-to-shoulder, and the entire collection of Zorn’s tape artworks sells out within two days (en.wikipedia.org).
Riding this momentum, Zorn next exhibits at the prestigious Scope Miami Beach art fair that welcomed 60,000 visitors (miaminiche.com). At Scope, his booth of glowing tape portraits (presented with Amsterdam’s Stick Together Gallery) attracts steady crowds of collectors and street art enthusiasts. “It was like moths to a flame,” joked one critic, noting how viewers clustered around the lightbox works. This Miami outing not only sold all available pieces but also garnered Zorn gallery invitations in the U.S. and features on local news, establishing his name in the North American art market.
Swizz Beatz watching Max Zorn create live tape art at Scope Miami Beach 2013.
Dec 2013 – Jan 19, 2014 – Amsterdam: Amsterdam Light Festival (ALF) – Zorn is commissioned to create a signature light artwork for ALF’s Illuminade walking route. He produces “Children of the War,” a large-scale tape art collage depicting four children who lived through WWII, installed on the facade of the Dutch Resistance Museum (Verzetsmuseum) (amsterdamlightfestival.com, amsterdamlightfestival.com). By day the piece appears as opaque tape on plexiglass, but by night the museum’s lights shine through, revealing sepia-toned portraits that resemble archival photographs (flickr.com). The artwork aligns with the museum’s themes: each child portrayed represents a story of persecution, resistance, collaboration, or survival during the war (amsterdamlightfestival.com).
2014 – International Festivals, SXSW & Museum Recognition
March 8–16, 2014 – Austin, TX, USA: South by Southwest (SXSW) Eco Light Garden – Zorn is invited as the first urban tape artist to participate in SXSW’s Eco Festival, which traditionally spotlights music, tech, and eco-design. Embracing the challenge, he creates a massive 10ft x 6ft tape mural titled “Huckleberry” for the festival’s outdoor Light Garden. Over 200 rolls of packing tape were meticulously layered to form the piece which was mounted in a custom-built lightbox frame and installed in downtown Austin’s Republic Square Park. Each night, as darkness fell, the illuminated tape mural – depicting a dreamy American South scene inspired by Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn – glowed for thousands of SXSW attendees. Zorn also performed live tape art demos at the 3M Interactive Lounge during the conference, drawing curious crowds as he cut out portraits with a surgeon’s precision (UrbanCulture). His presence introduced the tape art medium to the tech and creative audience of SXSW, bridging street art with discussions of design and innovation. His SXSW engagement marked Zorn’s expansion into interdisciplinary art events and foreshadowed future large-scale projects.
May 2014 – Bangkok, Thailand: Zorn joins the Living Arts Festival 2014 @ Ratchaprasong, an outdoor art festival that gathers 31 world-class street artists in the heart of Bangkok (bangkokpost.com). Amid live graffiti and mural-making, Zorn stands out by creating a taped portrait on an acrylic light panel under the tropical night sky. At first glance, onlookers thought he was simply layering strips of brown tape on glass; only when he backlit the piece did the full image appear – eliciting gasps and applause from the crowd. The Bangkok Post profiled Zorn during the festival in an article titled “All Taped Up,” which praised his “quirky craftsmanship” and ability to “bridge the gap between audience and artist” (bangkokpost.com). The newspaper described how Zorn, in a cap and sunglasses with tape wrapped on his wrist, “is ready to create an intriguing form of art” on the streets of Bangkok (bangkokpost.com). For many Thai spectators, this was their first encounter with tape art, and Zorn engaged them by allowing some to hold lights behind his work or apply a final strip of tape. The festival concluded with Zorn’s illuminated piece displayed in the bustling Ratchaprasong intersection, proving that even amid Bangkok’s neon glow, his tape art could captivate. The event broadened Zorn’s international fanbase and demonstrated the universal visual language of his art across cultures.
Sept–Oct 2014 – Europe: Zorn’s momentum continues with multiple European exhibitions. In Munich, he exhibits at Stroke Art Fair 2014 alongside urban art luminaries like Banksy, C215, JR, Shepard Fairey, and Swoon. His pieces – including a moody tape cityscape titled “Chinatown, Red” (with actual red tape lanterns) – draw attention as Stroke visitors witness a new medium holding its own next to stencil graffiti and spray-can murals. Meanwhile, in Cologne, Zorn’s work is shown at the Blooom Art Fair (Oct 24–27, 2014) with Go Gallery, marking his debut in Germany’s contemporary art fair scene. He also participates in ArtMUC in Munich, a group show featuring urban artists Herakut, Zeus, and Ben Eine, where he gives a live taping demo to illustrate his process. These events establish Zorn as a fixture on the European urban art circuit. Critically, they also position tape art as a legitimate medium: Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Zorn’s Munich appearance with the headline “Mit Packband und Skalpell” (With packing tape and scalpel), noting he “virtuosically” creates lighted images and has “millions of clicks” on his website (sueddeutsche.de, sueddeutsche.de).
9 October 2014 – Paris: “Art Urbain 2014” Urban Art Auction, Tajan Auction House. A tape artwork by Zorn titled “Exposed” (2014) is featured in Tajan’s high-profile urban art sale (en.wikipedia.org). This Paris auction also includes works by Banksy, JR, Jef Aerosol, C215, Shepard Fairey, and other street art stars, placing Zorn in prestigious company. Under the auction spotlights, Zorn’s Exposed sells successfully, signaling collectors’ willingness to invest in tape art. The official Tajan catalogue entry for Zorn’s lot describes it as “Scotch sur plexiglas… signé” (tape on plexiglass, signed) (tajan.com). With the hammer price significantly above the estimate, Max work now, within three years of his first street lamp piece, sold at Parisian auctions. This auction milestone, along with sales at Digard (Paris) and Chiswick (London) soon after, cemented Zorn’s market credibility and high demand by collectors (en.wikipedia.org.)
Nov 1, 2014 – Amsterdam: Museum Night (Museumnacht). Zorn’s art is embraced by Dutch museums during the annual Museumnacht, when cultural institutions host special nighttime programs. The EYE Film Museum and the Amsterdam Museum collaborate with Streetart.nl to display Zorn’s tape artworks as a highlight of their urban art theme. For one night, visitors at the EYE Museum encounter Zorn’s glowing portraits juxtaposed with film reels and cinematic exhibits, an apt pairing given the filmic quality of his work. At the Amsterdam Museum, Zorn’s pieces are installed in gallery windows facing the street, effectively turning the museum itself into a giant lightbox. Curators noted that Zorn’s modern tape portraits “help bring the street inside the museum” (en.wikipedia.org), aligning with the night’s inclusive spirit. The recognition is twofold: not only are museums seeking out street artists, but Zorn’s works in particular are valued for their accessible beauty. This event leads to the Amsterdam Museum acquiring at least one Zorn tape piece for its permanent collection (en.wikipedia.org). By year’s end, Zorn’s tape art is simultaneously on auction blocks, in festival streets, and on museum walls.
Dec 2–7, 2014 – Miami Beach: Zorn returns to Art Basel Miami week, this time as an exhibitor at Scope Miami Beach 2014, one of the premier satellite art fairs. With support from Amsterdam’s GO Gallery, Zorn presents a cohesive booth of his latest illuminated tape work. Key pieces include “Sugar Club” – a scene of a woman under a neon marquee – and “Burlesque I”, both of which had recently shown in Munich and now make their U.S. debut (artsy.net). The fair audience, a mix of international collectors and art insiders, is intrigued by the warm glow emanating from Zorn’s booth. Many step closer to inspect how packing tape could produce such detailed, painterly scenes. Critics in Miami call his work “cinematic renderings” that combine nostalgia with novelty. Scope 2014 proves successful: multiple pieces sell early. By the end of 2014, Zorn has firmly established a tri-continental presence – in Asia (Hong Kong), Europe, and North America – within just three years of his first tape experiment.
2015 – Solo Shows and Institutional Breakthroughs
Jan 31, 2015 – Amsterdam: “RED” – Zorn mounts an exhibition at the Original Dampkring Gallery (the art space of Amsterdam’s famed Dampkring venue) . This show, themed around the color red, features new tape artworks where Zorn experiments with incorporating red packing tape alongside his usual brown tones. Pieces like “ChinaTown Red” (2015) demonstrate this evolution (artsy.net artsy.net). The opening night draws a mix of art collectors and locals familiar with Dampkring’s counterculture legacy. In the dimly lit gallery, Zorn’s lightboxes radiate warmth; one visitor likens them to “Hopper paintings made of amber glass.”
March 7 – April 18, 2015 – Munich, Germany: “Tales of Another Time – Tape Art by Max Zorn” – Zorn’s tape art is the subject of a solo exhibition at MUCA gallery, the predecessor of the now established Munich’s Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art (artsy.net, artsy.net). This is Zorn’s first solo show in Munich. The title Tales of Another Time reflects the works’ storytelling quality and vintage ambiance, scenes of 1920s boxers, 1940s jazz clubs, and noir cityscapes, all rendered in sepia tape tones. Standout pieces include “Dance of the Enemies II” (2013), “Coming Home” (2013), and “Beach Day” (2014) (artsy.net, artsy.net). German press cover the exhibition. Süddeutsche Zeitung praises Zorn’s technique of layering packing tape and quotes the artist on his inspirations from classic literature and film (sueddeutsche.de, sueddeutsche.de). The public reception is enthusiastic: originally scheduled to end April 2, the show’s run is extended to April 18 due to high attendance (i-love-urbanart.com, sueddeutsche.de).
April 2015 – London: Zorn holds a solo show at the Sanderson Hotel (a chic boutique hotel in Fitzrovia), as part of the hotel’s spring art program. Curated by Morgans Hotel Group, the display transforms a lounge into a gallery of Zorn’s illuminated works. Pieces like “Vegas” and “Uptown Train” are showcased in custom lightboxes hung against the hotel’s trendy interiors. The Sanderson’s stylish clientele, many encountering tape art for the first time, respond with intrigue, several artworks are snapped up by international guests.
May 2015 – Amsterdam: Zorn exhibits at Vault17, a new urban art gallery, and participates in its opening group exhibition on February 27, 2015. In the launch show, Zorn’s works hang alongside emerging Dutch street artists, symbolizing a passing of the torch. Then in May, Zorn is included in Tour de Britain, an art exhibition in London celebrating the UK Tour of Britain cycling race. Zorn’s contribution is a dynamic tape composition of cyclists in motion, layered with kinetic streaks of tape to suggest speed.
June 2015 – CNN Interview: CNN features Max Zorn in a special titled “These amazing pictures are made with packing tape.” In the interview, Zorn discusses his creative process, the unexpected beauty and practicality of using packing tape, and how his “Stick Together” project fostered a global community connected through street art. This mainstream media spotlight further enhanced Zorn’s international recognition, positioning him as a prominent figure in the evolving urban art scene.
July 14 – Oct 18, 2015 – Delray Beach, FL, USA: “Reimagined – Contemporary Interpretations of Reuse” at Cornell Museum of Art. Zorn’s tape art is featured in this group exhibition focusing on artists who repurpose materials in innovative ways (en.wikipedia.org). The museum labels emphasize Zorn’s use of an everyday material (packing tape) to create fine art, aligning with the show’s theme of upcycling.
Sept 2015 – Berlin & Cologne: Zorn participates in major art fairs, reflecting his growing stature in Europe. In Berlin, he joins Berliner Liste 2015 (Sept 17–20), showcasing several works in the city’s Kraftwerk venue. Later that month, Zorn’s pieces appear at Art Cologne 2015 (Sept 24–27), exhibited by Urban Art Now. This marks one of the first times a major German art fair includes tape art. By the end of 2015, Zorn has shown at multiple top-tier European fairs, signaling that his once-niche medium has entered the mainstream contemporary art conversation.
Dec 2–6, 2015, Miami, USA: During Art Basel Miami week, Zorn headlines at Spectrum Miami 2015, a juried contemporary art fair, with Stick Together Gallery. His booth features a dozen new works, including a t New York street scenes rendered with astonishing detail. The response is tremendous: Zorn is honored with Spectrum’s “Best New Exhibitor of the Year” award for 2015, recognizing the quality and originality of his presentation (sticktogethergallery.com). Collectors praise how the works transform under light; Spectrum’s jurors cite Zorn’s ability to “push a humble material to magical heights”. Zorn also wins “Best Artist of the Year” as well (sticktogethergallery.com). By this time, attending Art Basel Miami week has become an annual tradition for Zorn, each year unveiling a fresh collection and usually selling out. The Spectrum accolades, bestowed amid hundreds of international exhibitors, underscore Zorn’s emergence as a star of the Miami fairs. As CBS Sunday Morning would later comment, “Dutch artist Max Zorn has become a star in the art world with his moody, elaborate portraits… made with nothing but packing tape” (cbsnews.com).
2016: Large-Scale Projects and Global Recognition
March 1–14, 2016 – Dubai, UAE: Dubai Canvas 2016 – Zorn is invited to the 2nd annual Dubai Canvas Festival, an ambitious public art event held at Jumeirah Beach Residence. Billed as one of “the world’s most innovative forms of street art” at the festival (gulfnews.com), Zorn’s tape art is showcased alongside 3D pavement art and murals by international stars like Julian Beever and Kobra. He produces an 8-foot-high backlit piece on-site, depicting Dubai’s skyline in sepia tones. The Gulf News profiles Zorn among the festival highlights: “Two of the artists presenting their unusual art forms… are Max Zorn, who creates pictures with nothing but adhesive tape, and SHOK-1, who draws stunning X-ray paintings on walls,” it reports (gulfnews.com). Dubai’s Media Office promotes Zorn’s work, fascinated by the novelty of tape as a medium in the Middle East. Festival-goers watch in amazement as Zorn layers translucent brown tape to capture the shimmer of Dubai’s skyscrapers at night (gulfnews.com). “In just four years, [Max Zorn’s] solo exhibitions and international résumé span innovative projects, global representation, and a celebrity clientele,” the festival organizers note, referencing the rapid rise of his career (gulfnews.com). At the festival’s close, Zorn’s piece is purchased by the city of Dubai. Dubai Canvas solidifies Zorn’s status as a globally sought urban artist, introducing his work to new audiences in the Middle East.
April 2016 – BBC Interview: Max Zorn is featured by BBC News at an exhibition in Singapore, where he elaborates on his artistic inspirations and techniques. Zorn discusses his fascination with storytelling, cinematic narratives, and combining elements from different eras to create artworks “unbound by time and place.” The BBC feature further cemented his status as an innovative and international artist within the street art community.
April 22–24, 2016 – Singapore: Zorn’s work features at the Affordable Art Fair (AAF) Singapore (Spring edition), marking his first foray into Southeast Asian art markets beyond one-off festivals. With Stick Together Gallery, he presents a range of lightbox artworks in an accessible price segment, aiming to appeal to young collectors. Throughout the fair weekend, Zorn performs live tape art demonstrations at the booth, slicing tape into portraits in real time for a captivated crowd (luxuo.comluxuo.com). Fair visitors line up to watch the “tape painter” at work, often mistaking the medium for painted translucent film until they see the tape up close. Zorn’s interactive approach pays off – all exhibited works sell, and he secures several commissions from Singaporean art buyers. The success at AAF proves that tape art has broad commercial appeal, and it also demonstrates Zorn’s flair for showmanship in engaging the public.
June 8–26, 2016 – Grenoble, France: Zorn participates in the Grenoble Street Art Fest 2016, joining a roster of urban artists like C215, Anthony Lister, and Augustine Kofie. He creates a temporary taped installation on the glass facade of bus shelters around Grenoble. The Grenoble festival and similar events in Dinslaken and Munich (the Kunst statt Leerraum festival and Red Bull’s “Dein Viertel. Deine Leinwand.” event show Zorn’s commitment to street art roots even as his gallery career blossoms.
October 2016 – Berlin, Germany: Tape Art Convention 2016 – Zorn exhibits in the world’s first international Tape Art Convention, held at Neurotitan Gallery in Berlin. This unique convention (Oct 10 – Nov 5, 2016) brings together tape artists from 10 countries to celebrate and elevate the adhesive art form. The convention’s goal is to position tape art as a recognized genre.
Nov 30 – Dec 4, 2016 – Miami, USA: Zorn unveils a new solo showcase at Aqua Art Miami 2016, a prestigious satellite fair during Art Basel Miami week. Occupying an entire room at Aqua (with Stick Together Gallery), Zorn debuts a series of works exploring jazz-era themes. The pieces incorporate deeper shadow layering and even small accents of colored tape, showing his evolving technique. Art fair attendees pack into the retro Aqua Hotel suite to experience the intimate glow of Zorn’s pieces. Many note the cinematic feel: The Miami New Times highlights Zorn’s room as “an enchanting speakeasy of light and shadow”. Once again, the demand is strong. The show sold out before the fair’s end, with a waiting list of buyers (en.wikipedia.org). This marks four consecutive years of sold-out Miami exhibitions for Zorn (en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org). By the end of 2016, Zorn’s track record includes sold-out solo shows in Europe, Asia, and the US, plus critical accolades and growing auction results, a clear sign that what began as a late-night street experiment has grown into a global art phenomenon.
Dec 2016 – Awards & Market Highs: In late 2016, Zorn’s steady climb in the art market is highlighted by record sales. At a December charity auction in Los Angeles, his piece “Midnight Checkpoint” fetches $8,000 . Shortly after, Stick Together Gallery reports that Zorn’s art has been placed in museums like EYE Filmmuseum Amsterdam, the Resistance Museum Amsterdam, and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! collection (en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org). These placements indicate institutional and pop-cultural recognition of his work’s significance.
TEDx Talk Munich: Additionally, 2016 is when Zorn’s manager Audrey Sykes and Max Zorn together gives a TEDx Talk in Munich discussing tape art and Stick Together’s philosophy. Audrey articulates the appeal of Zorn’s art: the “wow factor” of an everyday medium turned into luminous art that helps people see the familiar “in a completely different light,” as Zorn himself has said (TEDX Talk Munich VIDEO, luxuo.com).
2017 – Widening the Audience
October 5–8, 2017 – London, UK: Zorn makes his long-awaited UK art fair debut at Moniker Art Fair 2017 in London’s Old Truman Brewery. Moniker, known for cutting-edge urban art, provides an ideal platform. Zorn’s booth is presented by Stick Together Gallery and features pieces like “The Londoner” (a moody tape portrait set against Big Ben’s silhouette) created specifically for this fair. The artwork, illuminated within a vintage window frame, draws considerable buzz, it sells to a London collector on VIP preview night. Throughout Moniker, crowds frequently gather around Zorn’s space, intrigued by the backlighting and meticulous detail. The Art Newspaper includes Zorn in its Moniker roundup, noting his “unique tape tableaux stopping visitors in their tracks.”By fair’s end, all of Zorn’s exhibited works are sold, and he gains invitations from several London galleries. His successful London premiere demonstrates that tape art resonates with the UK’s sophisticated street art audience, and it opens the door for a subsequent solo pop-up in Shoreditch the next year.
December 7–10, 2017 – Miami, USA: For Art Basel Miami Week 2017, Zorn returns to Aqua Art Fair again (with Stick Together Gallery), continuing his annual Miami streak. The room is constantly filled; fair organizers cite Zorn’s space as one of the most frequented. Meanwhile, at the fair itself, Zorn’s works sell out (again). With this, Zorn ends 2017 having sold out six Miami shows in a row, every year since 2012. Collectors now plan trips to Miami specifically to acquire his newest work. The Miami New Times includes him in a Basel-week article titled “Artists to Watch,” highlighting how his pieces have appreciated on the secondary market since his first Wynwood show (en.wikipedia.org). By the close of 2017, Zorn’s collector base has grown and diversified, and major media are telling his story, amplifying his reach beyond the traditional art sphere.
2017 – Public Collections: This year, several public and corporate collections acquire Zorn’s works. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum franchise includes Zorn in an exhibit on extraordinary art materials, featuring a large tape portrait under the tagline “Sticky Masterpiece” (en.wikipedia.org). The EYE Filmmuseum Amsterdam showcases Zorn pieces. These developments indicate institutional confidence in Zorn’s work as culturally and historically engaging. Zorn, once a self-described night-time street artist, is now also an educator and innovator recognized by mainstream audiences.
2018 – New Milestones: Conventions, Record Sales & Scope Art Fair
May 25, 2018 – Heidelberg, Germany: Zorn’s tape art is featured in “Kunst und Anti-Diskriminierung” (Art and Anti-Discrimination), a special one-night exhibition and discussion event curated by Kunsthandel Bamberger. This Heidelberg show foreshadows a two-person show with Shepard Fairey’s art the following year.
July 8–28, 2018 – Berlin, Germany: Tape Art Convention 2018 – Zorn returns to Berlin for the second Tape Art Convention, again at Neurotitan Gallery). The 2018 edition is larger, with more artists and a broader range of tape-based works (murals, installations). Zorn exhibits new works including “CIty Lights”.
September 2018 – Düsseldorf, Germany: Zorn is commissioned by Rhein Asset Management to create a large tape art installation in the lobby of the Frank Gehry-designed Neuer Zollhof towers. This project demonstrates corporate interest in Zorn’s art for its ability to transform spaces. The positive reception leads to further corporate commissions, including one by Scotch’s parent company 3M in 2019.
Dec 4–9, 2018 – Miami Beach, USA: Scope Miami Beach 2018 – Zorn elevates his Art Basel week presence by moving to the expansive Scope Art Fair tent on the sands of South Beach. Stick Together Gallery booth is a solo Max Zorn showcase, The installation includes a dozen new works, notably “Floating in Time,” a three-panel tape triptych. This ambitious piece captivates audiences; its three frames can be displayed separately or together, each illuminated. Collectors vie for Floating in Time, and it eventually sells to a collector for $30,000 (en.wikipedia.org). (This sale is noted by art market watchers as a sign of tape art’s collectability.) The rest of Zorn’s booth also sells out early during VIP days. By the end of 2018, Max Zorn’s name has become synonymous with tape art on a global scale. Industry publications like Artsy write pieces such as “How a Dutch Artist Transforms Packing Tape into Cinematic Scenes,” which recounts Zorn’s journey from street lamps to Art Basel and quotes him on discovering “the way one element – light – changes everything about the tape”. . Zorn’s art market trajectory continues upward, with multiple auction houses (Digard, Tajan, Chiswick) including his works in their sales and achieving strong results.
2019 – Collaborations & Fairs
May 2–5, 2019 – New York City, USA: Max Zorn makes a splash in the Big Apple at Art New York 2019, a prominent art fair coinciding with Frieze Week, exhibited by Elka Bronner Gallery (Paris).
- September 2019 – Paris, France: Zorn’s tape art returns to Paris for the Urban Art Fair @ District 13 (held at Hôtel Drouot). Here, Stick Together Gallery presents Zorn’s latest works to a European audience fresh from summer. Among them is “La Vie En Rose,” an homage to Paris nightlife featuring a chanteuse on stage, created with layers of rosy-tinted tape introduced into his palette. The District 13 Art Fair press materials list Zorn as a headlining international artist, and indeed his booth garners a steady crowd. French collectors who missed his 2012 solo now eagerly acquire pieces; a bidding war even erupts over a piece called “90 Miles” leading to a gallery-arranged sale after the fair. The fair’s success for Zorn indicates that Europe’s appetite for his work has grown, his name now carries significant weight among urban art connoisseurs.
December 3–8, 2019 – Miami Beach, USA: For the 2019 Art Basel Miami week, Zorn exhibits at Scope Miami Beach once again. Zorn unveils a series that incorporates subtle neon-like tape colors (faint yellows and reds) to mimic neon signs within his scenes. Stick Together Gallery’s booth sells out by the fair’s mid-point, and they note many sales are to repeat collectors who come each year to see Zorn’s latest. With Miami 2019’s success, Zorn completes a decade of Art Basel week shows (2010–2019) with a perfect record. Stick Together Gallery confirms that every solo Art Basel Miami week exhibition of Zorn’s since 2012 has sold out, a remarkable streak.
2020–2021 – Adapting and Innovating During the Pandemic
2020 (Global Pause): The COVID-19 pandemic forces many art events to cancel, but Zorn adapts by shifting focus to virtual engagement and special releases. With travel restricted, he halts his street installations and instead runs online “Special Sale” events via his website (e.g., a Winter 2020 drop of limited tape art originals). These online releases, often timed with when his exhibitions would have been, prove popular, entire editions of similar originals sell out in minutes, attesting to a dedicated collector base even in difficult times.
- 2021 – Tajan’s Urban Art auction sees Zorn’s new work “Blue Bird, 2021” (a luminous tape scene of a bird in flight) sell above estimate, and a “Shimmers, 2021” piece sells at Gazette Drouot’s urban art sale, confirming sustained market interest (gazette-drouot.com).
2022 – Return to Art Fairs and Major Exhibitions
- 29 Nov – 4 Dec 2022 – Miami Beach, USA: Zorn continues his Art Basel week legacy at Scope Miami Beach 2022, presenting a new series of works with Stick Together Gallery. This year’s selection, created largely in 2022, has a thematic focus on “Caribbean Nights”. The series coincides with the 10th anniversary of Stick Together Gallery’s first Miami show, giving a celebratory tone. The booth is constantly busy. The gallery reports a complete sell-out by December 4.. Zorn and Stick Together count ten consecutive years of Miami sold-out shows, a nearly unparalleled run.
- 2022 – Museum Exhibition in Munich: In late 2022, Germany’s MUCA in Munich organizes a new extensive exhibition of Zorn’s work. The display, running through early 2023, includes over 25 large-scale tape works spanning Zorn’s career. MUCA dubs it “the most comprehensive collection of Max Zorn’s art to date”, effectively a mid-career retrospective. Pieces on loan from around the world are featured, and early works that had never been in a museum before. The exhibit is a hit, This museum showcase cements Zorn’s art historical significance in the urban art canon, presenting his oeuvre in dialogue with works by Banksy, Invader, and others in MUCA’s collection. By the end of 2022, Zorn is not just a successful artist but also the subject of serious art study and institutional retrospectives.
2023 – Continued Success
- Dec 5–10, 2023 – Miami Beach, USA: Zorn exhibits again at Scope Miami Beach 2023. The Stick Together Gallery features a curated selection of Zorn’s pieces from each year (borrowed back from collectors) alongside brand-new works for sale. This mini-retrospective includes the piece that started it all – one of Zorn’s original 2011 lamp post tape “stickers,” framed and illuminated, which enthralls visitors with its humble size and origin. New works, like “Crossroads” previewed for the fair, show Zorn’s continuing evolution, with even more intricate detail and richer contrast. The booth becomes a must-see; many fairgoers reminisce about seeing Zorn’s work in past years and are proud to witness his growth. True to form, the booth sells out completely, and this time at record volume, about 80 artworks find buyers (sticktogethergallery.com). Stick Together Gallery reveals they now have an 8-month waitlist for new Zorn pieces, given his output can’t keep up with demand (sticktogethergallery.com). This 2023 Miami showing underscores Zorn’s consistent appeal and market stability even a decade on.
2024 – New Exhibitions and International Showcases
January 20–21, 2024 – Fort Worth, Texas, USA: “Max Zorn at Bowie House” – The Gallery at Bowie House (a luxury boutique hotel and art space in Fort Worth) hosts an intimate weekend solo exhibition of Zorn’s work (sticktogethergallery.com). This event, hosted by art collector Jo Ellard (Bowie House’s owner), is Zorn’s first dedicated show in Texas. On display are both classic pieces like “Let them have the rest, we own the night baby”. The opening is accompanied by a live tape art demonstration and artist Q&A with Zorn. Local media covers the event enthusiastically: NBC 5 (DFW) airs a segment on Texas Today titled “Creating Beautiful Art from Packing Tape,” in which Zorn shows how he “makes amazing works of art using ordinary packing tape,” live on camera. “That’s a cool moment when they see the texture of the tape and realize how it’s made,” Zorn says during the interview.
December 2024 – Miami Beach, USA: Zorn and Stick Together Gallery mount their annual exhibit at Scope Miami Beach 2024, reaching an 11th consecutive year of Art Basel Miami participation. This time, the demand is at an all-time high. On VIP preview day, more than half of Zorn’s new works (including an ambitious piece titled “Americana”, 2024) are pre-sold to clients from a preview catalog (sticktogethergallery.com). By fair’s end, the gallery reports selling more than 80 artworks (all originals) and the entirety of their booth inventory (sticktogethergallery.com). They note a waitlist stretching 8 months for the commissioned multiple originals ( sticktogethergallery.com) an extraordinary indicator of Zorn’s sustained market fervor. “This is our 10th consecutive year wrapping up a sold out show during Art Miami Week,” Stick Together’s owners announce proudly (sticktogethergallery.com). Indeed, the 2024 Miami outing not only matches but exceeds the success of prior years, with revenue and attendance breaking their personal records. Zorn’s live creation at the booth again draws crowds and social media buzz. As Art Basel week 2024 concludes, it’s evident that Max Zorn’s unique art continues to captivate and that his Basel streak is an art world legend in its own right.
2025 – Homecoming
- April 14–18, 2025 – Amsterdam, Netherlands: “Five Nights in Amsterdam” – Homecoming Exhibition. After many years abroad, Max Zorn stages a solo exhibition in his hometown of Amsterdam, celebrating 10+ years of his tape art career. Held at a gallery space on Tweede Hugo de Grootstraat, the show runs for five consecutive nights, each night with a different theme and guest list. Opening Night (April 14) is split into two sessions due to demand, both fully booked with collectors. Attendees are greeted with a decade-spanning collection: from one of Zorn’s very first tape lamp “stickers” of 2011, to his latest 2025 works . Over 20 artworks adorn the space, making it the largest display of Zorn’s art in Amsterdam to date. The exhibition includes key artworks like “City Lights” ond “The Great Escape”. All available artworks for sale are quickly reserved by a mix of Dutch and international buyers. For Zorn, Five Nights is both nostalgic and forward-looking, he remarks, “Amsterdam gave me my canvas of light, and I’m excited for the next ten years.”
Max Zorn’s career is a timeline of pushing boundaries: from literally illuminating city streets to lighting up the halls of museums and art fairs. As one reviewer eloquently summed up during his 2025 Amsterdam show, “Max Zorn’s tape art reminds us that even the most ordinary materials can, in the right hands, become extraordinary narratives of light and shadow”. With upcoming exhibitions planned and an ever-growing global fanbase, Zorn’s luminous tape creations are poised to continue enchanting audiences, one strip of tape at a time.
Main Sources:
Max Zorn official site and press releases: maxzorn.com;
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org;
Woolff Gallery profile: woolffgallery.co.uk, woolffgallery.co.uk;
Deutsche Welle & Huffington Post coverage: ktrendhunter.com;
DJGuide event listing djguide.nldjguide.nl;
FlickR/Joop Reuvecamp (Amsterdam Light Festival): flickr.com;
Bangkok Post: bangkokpost.com;
Gulf News (Dubai Canvas): gulfnews.comgulfnews.com;
Artsy Editorial: artsy.net;
Süddeutsche Zeitung (MUCA 2015): sueddeutsche.de, sueddeutsche.de;
AskART bio: askart.comaskart.com;
Widewalls, Ripley’s, and CBS News features: en.wikipedia.org, cbsnews.com;
Stick Together Gallery news: sticktogethergallery.com, maxzorn.com.
(Additional citations inline above): woolffgallery.co.uk, en.wikipedia.org, luxuo.com, djguide.nl, flickr.com, gulfnews.com, maxzorn.com, sticktogethergallery.com