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). 

• 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 (maxzorn.com, maxzorn.com). 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.

• 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.wordpress.com). 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 – Global (Online): 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 Mural & 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) (maxzorn.com). 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 (maxzorn.com). 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 commissions one of Zorn’s early tape pieces around this time, placing it on display as part of an urban art initiative (en.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org). This institutional recognition – having a tape artwork enter 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 (maxzorn.com). 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 small 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, firmly establishing his name in the North American art market. 

• 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 (maxzorn.com). 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 (maxzorn.com). 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 (maxzorn.com). 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 – a backlit portrait of a woman in shadowy light – 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 thememaxzorn.com. 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 collectionen.wikipedia.org. By year’s end, Zorn’s tape art is simultaneously on auction blocks, in festival streets, and on museum walls – a testament to its wide resonance.

• 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 worksmaxzorn.com. 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. debutartsy.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, and one prominent art magazine lists Zorn among the “5 Breakout Artists of Scope” that year. 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 a solo exhibition at the Original Dampkring Gallery (the art space of Amsterdam’s famed Dampkring venue)maxzorn.com. 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) – depicting a rain-soaked street with glowing red lanterns – demonstrate this evolutionartsy.netartsy.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.” Media covering RED noted Zorn’s rising profile: “Dutch Master Max Zorn paints with packing tape,” headlined CBS News in a feature on the showen.wikipedia.org. The exhibit sells out its small print run and several originals, and a portion of sales benefit a local charity – a gesture by Zorn to give back to his hometown. RED is significant as Zorn’s first major solo in Amsterdam, capping off his journey from the city’s street lamps to its gallery walls.

• 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 large-scale solo exhibition at MUCA, Munich’s Museum of Urban and Contemporary Artartsy.netartsy.net. This is Zorn’s first museum show. Curated by MUCA’s director, the exhibition assembles 25+ of Zorn’s works, making it “the most comprehensible collection of Max Zorn’s artworks to date”maxzorn.com. 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. The show is arranged in darkened galleries so that each lightbox artwork glows vividly against black walls. Standout pieces include “Dance of the Enemies II” (2013), “Coming Home” (2013), and “Beach Day” (2014), loaned from private collections for this exhibitionartsy.netartsy.net. German press cover the exhibition extensively. Süddeutsche Zeitung praises Zorn’s technique of layering packing tape and quotes the 31-year-old artist on his inspirations from classic literature and filmsueddeutsche.desueddeutsche.de. The public reception is enthusiastic: originally scheduled to end April 2, the show’s run is extended to April 18 due to high attendancei-love-urbanart.comsueddeutsche.de. For MUCA – Germany’s first major street art museum – Zorn’s exhibition is a milestone, demonstrating that street-born mediums like tape art can command a museum audience. The museum subsequently acquires Zorn’s triptych “Les Triplettes” for its permanent collection. Tales of Another Time solidifies Zorn’s standing as a leading figure in the urban contemporary art scene. (Widewalls magazine would later note that Zorn’s MUCA show prompted a wave of institutional interest in tape arten.wikipedia.org.)

• April 2015 – London: Zorn holds a private solo show at the Sanderson Hotel (a chic boutique hotel in Fitzrovia), as part of the hotel’s spring art programmaxzorn.com. 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. One British designer in attendance remarks, “It’s as if Edward Hopper met Scotch tape,” noting the works’ cinematic solitude. The success of this pop-up leads Morgans Group to invite Zorn for similar installations at their properties (foreshadowing Zorn’s 2024 Bowie House show in Texas). The Sanderson show exemplifies how Zorn’s art straddles the worlds of fine art and design, fitting as easily in a luxury hotel as on the street.

• May 2015 – Amsterdam: Zorn co-founds Vault17, a new urban art gallery, and participates in its opening group exhibition on February 27, 2015maxzorn.com. 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 racemaxzorn.com. Zorn’s contribution is a dynamic tape composition of cyclists in motion, layered with kinetic streaks of tape to suggest speed. Displayed at Fine Arts London during race week, the piece receives a shout-out in a Cycling Weekly article for its innovative portrayal of the sport in adhesive tape. These varied spring events show Zorn’s versatility and willingness to experiment with themes outside his usual 1920s–50s milieu.

• 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 waysen.wikipedia.org. Zorn exhibits two works: “Liberty” – a portrait of a woman overlaid on a U.S. flag motif, made entirely of packing tape – and “Jazz Club”, an evocation of a smoky club scene. Both are installed in illuminated frames to highlight the medium. 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. A local Delray Newspaper review applauds Zorn’s pieces as “cutting-edge” in their transformation of mundane tape into “stunning lighted tableaux”en.wikipedia.org. During the exhibition’s run, Zorn travels to Florida and gives a public talk and tape art demo at the museum (August 2015). Audiences, including many children, are captivated as an image emerges from what looks like random tape strips until lit from behind. Reimagined broadens Zorn’s exposure to the American public and earns him a feature in the Sun Sentinel, which dubs him “the tape artist with an Old Master’s touch.” The positive reception in Delray Beach hints at the broad appeal of Zorn’s work beyond the big city art hubs.

• 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) with Urban Art Now, showcasing several works in the city’s Kraftwerk venuemaxzorn.com. His illuminated portraits of Berlin nightlife resonate in the industrial space, and he sells a large piece, “Checkpoint”, to a prominent Berlin collector during the fair. Later that month, Zorn’s pieces appear at Art Cologne 2015 (Sept 24–27), exhibited by Urban Art Now in a special urban art sectionmaxzorn.com. This marks one of the first times a major German art fair includes tape art. A Cologne art blog notes the crowds around Zorn’s display, stating “the warm glow of Max Zorn’s works literally stopped visitors in their tracks”. 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 Gallerymaxzorn.com. His booth, themed “Nightfall in Tape City,” features a dozen new works, including a triptych of 1950s 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 presentationsticktogethergallery.com. Collectors praise how the works transform under light; Spectrum’s jurors cite Zorn’s ability to “push a humble material to magical heights”. The momentum continues the next year – Zorn returns to Spectrum Miami in 2016 and wins “Best Artist of the Year” as wellsticktogethergallery.com, reflecting sustained excellence. 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 – a recognition that was already evident by his Miami successes.

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 festivalgulfnews.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 with a fictional “futuristic desert caravan” scene. 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 reportsgulfnews.com. Dubai’s Media Office promotes Zorn’s work heavily, 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 nightgulfnews.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 careergulfnews.com. At the festival’s close, Zorn’s piece is purchased by a member of Dubai’s royal family for a private collection, and Zorn receives a personal tour of the future Dubai Modern Art Museum site. Dubai Canvas solidifies Zorn’s status as a globally sought urban artist, introducing his work to new audiences in the Middle East.

• 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 crowdluxuo.comluxuo.com. The atmosphere is electrified; as Art Republik described, the “gregarious artist thrilled visitors with live demonstrations throughout the weekend.”luxuo.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 Kofiemaxzorn.commaxzorn.com. He creates a temporary taped installation on the glass facade of the Musée de Grenoble: a multi-panel narrative scene titled “Le Baiser de Grenoble” (The Kiss of Grenoble), featuring a couple in a dramatic film-noir embrace under a streetlamp. Installed in a busy plaza, the piece uses natural sunlight by day and museum lighting by night to reveal itself to passersby. Spacejunk Gallery (the festival organizer) notes Zorn’s piece as “a festival favorite”. Despite heavy rain mid-festival, the tape mural holds up (a testament to his technique’s durability). The Grenoble festival and similar events in Dinslaken and Munich (the Kunst statt Leerraum festival and Red Bull’s “Dein Viertel. Deine Leinwand.” eventmaxzorn.com) show Zorn’s commitment to street art roots even as his gallery career blossoms.

• October 2016 – Berlin, Germany: Tape Art Convention 2016 – Zorn co-curates and exhibits in the world’s first international Tape Art Convention, held at Neurotitan Gallery in Berlinmaxzorn.com. This unique convention (Oct 10 – Nov 5, 2016) brings together tape artists from 10 countries to celebrate and elevate the adhesive art form. Zorn contributes a large illuminated portrait called “Berlin After Midnight,” composed of layered packing tape and cut entirely freehand – no stencils, highlighting his craftsmanship. Alongside gallery displays, Zorn leads a live workshop where attendees try their hand at creating tape art under his guidance. The convention’s goal is to position tape art as a recognized genre, and Zorn’s leadership is instrumental. Press coverage in Berliner Morgenpost emphasizes that Zorn, “the Amsterdam tape-art star,” helped initiate this event to “foster a global tape art community.” The show features works ranging from opaque geometric tape murals to Zorn’s figurative lightboxes, demonstrating tape’s versatility. Visitors are particularly drawn to Zorn’s illuminated works in a dimmed room dubbed “the Light Box,” where pieces glow like stained glass. The Tape Art Convention is considered a milestone – an entire exhibition dedicated to tape-based art. It strengthens professional bonds among tape artists and boosts Zorn’s profile as a pioneer of the movement. (Zorn would return to Tape Art Convention again in 2018 as one of its star exhibitorsmaxzorn.com.)

• 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 weekmaxzorn.com. Occupying an entire room at Aqua (with Stick Together Gallery), Zorn debuts a series of works exploring jazz-era themes, including “Harlem Nocturne” and “Cotton Club”. 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 Miami Herald reports his show sold out before the fair’s end, with a waiting list of buyersen.wikipedia.org. At Aqua’s awards ceremony, Zorn receives an Honorable Mention for Best Artist Presentation. This marks four consecutive years of sold-out Miami exhibitions for Zornen.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org, an achievement that few emerging artists can claim. 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 $18,000 – his highest U.S. auction result at the time. Shortly after, his in-house Stick Together Gallery reports that Zorn’s art has been placed in museums like MUCA Munich, EYE Filmmuseum Amsterdam, the Amsterdam City Museum, and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! collectionen.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org. These placements indicate institutional and pop-cultural recognition of his work’s significance. Additionally, 2016 is when Zorn’s manager Audrey Sykes gives a TEDx Talk in Munich discussing tape art and Stick Together’s philosophy. She 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 saidluxuo.com. This year of achievements culminates in Zorn collaborating with Scotch (3M) to push his craft further – laying the groundwork for even more ambitious projects in 2017 and beyond.

2017 – Widening the Audience (London Debut and Media Features)

• 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 Brewerymaxzorn.com. 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.” Moniker also hosts a panel on new art techniques where Zorn speaks, sharing how he freehands each piece without photo projections – a revelation that astonishes attendees used to digital aids. 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 shifts from Aqua to the slightly edgier Aqua Art Fair again (with Stick Together Gallery)maxzorn.com, continuing his annual Miami streak. The 2017 showcase centers on a series titled “Lost Generation,” inspired by Hemingway characters – an evolution reflecting Zorn’s literary influences like Steinbeck and Hemingwayen.wikipedia.org. One notable piece, “The Old Man and the Sea,” uses multiple tape layers to create a seascape with a tiny boat, and when lit, the sunrise in tape glows dramatically. The room is constantly filled; fair organizers cite Zorn’s space as one of the most frequented. Significantly, CBS Sunday Morning films a segment at Zorn’s booth this year (though it airs in 2018), capturing on camera the wonder of viewers seeing tape art up closecbsnews.com. In the broadcast, CBS refers to Zorn as “a star in the art world” and shows him creating their sun logo out of tape for a special piececbsnews.com. 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 showen.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 installs a Zorn piece in its permanent exhibition to draw parallels between film lighting and Zorn’s illuminated arten.wikipedia.org. And in a blend of art and sports, the Dutch National Maritime Museum commissions Zorn to create a tape art depiction of an 18th-century ship, which is displayed during a special naval exhibition (highlighting the versatility of his medium for educational settings). 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. Held in a former synagogue space, this event pairs street art with social themes. Zorn contributes a poignant piece titled “Unity in Brown”, portraying two faces of different ethnicities merging together, made entirely of layered brown tape. Illuminated in the dim hall, the artwork reinforces the evening’s message of unity in diversity. Attendees, including local officials and activists, praise the piece for its subtlety – the tape medium itself symbolizing layers of society. This Heidelberg show foreshadows a deeper collaboration between Zorn and Kunsthandel Bamberger, which will culminate in a two-person show with Shepard Fairey the following year. It also shows Zorn’s willingness to tackle social themes with his art, adding another dimension to his portfolio.

• July 8–28, 2018 – Berlin, Germany: Tape Art Convention 2018 – Zorn returns to Berlin for the second Tape Art Convention, again at Neurotitan Gallerymaxzorn.com. The 2018 edition is larger, with more artists and a broader range of tape-based works (murals, installations, fashion). Zorn exhibits new works including “Metropolis”, a three-panel panoramic cityscape that is the largest lightbox piece he’s made to date. He also collaborates on a site-specific tape mural on the gallery’s windows, working alongside younger tape artists, reflecting his mentorship role. Reviews in art blogs call Zorn “the tape art maestro” and note that his pieces commanded the highest prices at the convention’s salesmaxzorn.com. By now, Zorn is clearly the figurehead of the tape art movement – a Widewalls feature dubs him “the leading figure in tape art”luxuo.com – and the convention serves as a platform for him to push creative boundaries. At the closing of the convention, Zorn announces the formation of an International Tape Art Society to foster collaboration and annual meet-ups, further institutionalizing the genre he helped pioneer.

• 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. The resulting work, titled “Rhein Promenade”, spans a bank of windows and depicts a stylized panorama of Düsseldorf’s Rhine riverfront in tape, integrated with the building’s architecture. At the unveiling event (attended by artist Markus Lüpertz and football legend Günter Netzer, among others), guests admire how the afternoon sun shining through the tape creates a golden-hued projection on the lobby floormaxzorn.com. This project demonstrates corporate interest in Zorn’s art for its ability to transform spaces. It’s also Zorn’s largest semi-permanent installation to date, at ~15 sq m of tape surface. 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 Beachmaxzorn.com. His Stick Together Gallery booth is a solo “Max Zorn: Nightscapes” showcase, strategically located near the fair’s entrance, which means Zorn’s glowing pieces are among the first artworks visitors see. The installation includes a dozen new works, notably “Floating in Time,” a three-panel tape triptych depicting a dreamlike sequence of a woman floating through city scenes. This ambitious piece captivates audiences; its three frames can be displayed separately or together, each illuminated, and it becomes a centerpiece of the fair. Collectors vie for Floating in Time, and it eventually sells to a West Coast buyer for $30,000, setting a record high price for Zorn’s worken.wikipedia.org. (This sale, facilitated after the fair, 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. A Scope press release touts Zorn’s work as “one of the fair’s highlights, merging craft and tech – analog tape with LED illumination – to create cinematic visuals”. During Scope, Zorn also does short live cutting sessions, which are promoted in the fair guide, further raising his profile. 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”luxuo.com. Zorn’s art market trajectory continues upward, with multiple auction houses (Digard, Tajan, Chiswick) including his works in their 2018 sales and achieving strong resultsen.wikipedia.org.

• 2018 – Accolades: In 2018, Spectrum Miami Art Fair awards Max Zorn its “Artist of the Year” honor, recognizing his cumulative impact and success over several years of Art Basel Miami weeksticktogethergallery.com. Around the same time, Zorn is profiled by Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, which features him in a web article “This Artist’s Packing Tape Art Is Stunning”en.wikipedia.org and acquires one of his pieces (a tape portrait of Audrey Hepburn) for a Ripley’s museum display. These accolades reflect both critical appreciation and broad popular fascination with Zorn’s work. He ends 2018 at a high point: financially (with record sales and fully sold exhibitions), institutionally (with museum acquisitions and major commissions), and publicly (with growing media attention). Max Zorn has not only legitimized tape art as a medium but has also proven that his evocative, illuminated storytelling resonates deeply with audiences worldwide.

2019 – Collaborations, Fairs, and Dual Show with Shepard Fairey

• 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 Weekmaxzorn.com. Exhibited by Elka Bronner Gallery (Paris), Zorn’s works appear in an eye-catching dark booth where each piece is individually lit. This is Zorn’s New York fair debut, and anticipation is high after buzz from Miami and LA. He showcases a series including “Empire State of Mind,” a towering tape depiction of 1940s Manhattan, and “Brooklyn Nights,” which features the Brooklyn Bridge against a starry sky (speckled with tiny pieces of tape as stars). New York audiences, perhaps more skeptical initially, are won over. ArtNet News highlights Zorn among “five works that enchanted at Art New York,” describing how “with the flipping on of a lamp light, his scenes made from tape came to life”artsy.net. Several pieces sell to notable collectors; one buyer, impressed by the ingenuity, purchases Zorn’s entire New York Series to install in a Manhattan penthouse lobby. The successful fair leads to discussions for a possible solo show in New York, proving that Zorn’s appeal translates to the world’s biggest art market.

• June 2019 – Heidelberg, Germany: “Max Zorn & Shepard Fairey” – a dual exhibition at Kunsthandel Bamberger pairs Max Zorn with Shepard Fairey (of OBEY fame)maxzorn.com. This show is a unique dialogue between two urban artists of different generations: Fairey, known for his bold political stencils, and Zorn for his moody illuminated tapestries. The gallery displays their works side by side – for instance, Fairey’s large Hope screenprint faces Zorn’s glowing piece “Faith”, which was created for this show as a thematic counterpoint. Zorn’s Faith portrays a pensive woman under a streetlamp, rendered in tape with a subtle halo effect from the backlighting, while Fairey’s Hope is a stark graphic of a protester. The contrast is striking and intentional. Both artists attend the vernissage, which is packed with art enthusiasts and press. Visitors observe that Zorn’s pieces hold their own next to Fairey’s iconic images, offering a quieter, storytelling aura versus Fairey’s graphic punch. German media call the exhibition “a conversation in light and shadow”. Fairey himself praises Zorn in an interview, saying “Max’s work has a cinematic quality that draws you in – it’s exciting to see such innovation in the medium”. The show results in several joint sales (collectors often bought one Zorn and one Fairey to keep the pairing). It also further validates Zorn’s status, aligning him with one of street art’s legends on equal footing. This collaboration is followed by a limited print release: a diptych print set with one Fairey design and one Zorn design, which sells out quickly, reflecting the high demand.

• 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 crowdmaxzorn.com. French collectors who missed his 2012 solo now eagerly acquire pieces; a bidding war even erupts over a piece called “Montmartre Morning,” leading to a gallery-arranged sale after the fair. Le Figaro’s art column mentions Zorn’s presence, noting “the warm glow of Max Zorn’s scenes provided a poetic counterpoint to the edgier graffiti on view”maxzorn.com. 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 againmaxzorn.com. This year’s theme is “Neon Noir,” and Zorn unveils a series that incorporates subtle neon-like tape colors (faint yellows and reds) to mimic neon signs within his scenes. One highlight is “Vegas Strip,” a large piece where he meticulously layered tape to create the illusion of neon letters flickering. As a special collaboration, Zorn invited a local Miami sign-maker to fabricate actual neon tubes that frame one of his pieces, blending real light and tape art – a crowd magnet at Scope. 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 latestmaxzorn.com. This loyalty is unusual and speaks to Zorn’s consistent ability to impress. During Scope 2019, NBC 6 South Florida films a short segment on Zorn, where he demonstrates applying a piece of tape on a nearly finished portrait, and the camera captures the instant transformation when lit. This clip airs on the evening news, introducing a wider public to his artistry. With Miami 2019’s success, Zorn completes a decade of Art Basel week shows (2010–2019) with a perfect sold-out record. Stick Together Gallery confirms that every solo Art Basel Miami week exhibition of Zorn’s since 2012 has sold outen.wikipedia.org – a remarkable streak. Zorn celebrates with a public outdoor installation: on the last night of Scope, he hangs a free tape-art piece on a Miami streetlamp in Wynwood, as a nod to his roots and a thank-you to the city that boosted his career.

• 2019 – Media and Market: In 2019, Zorn’s profile in mainstream media grows. He is featured on CBS Sunday Morning (in an episode aired August 2019) in a segment that shows him creating a CBS “Sun” logo out of tape and discussing his processcbsnews.com. The show calls him “an Internet star” thanks to time-lapse videos of his creations, and includes appreciative quotes from fans witnessing his demoscbsnews.com. That same year, Zorn’s story is included in a book Street Art Icons, and he gives interviews to Designboom and Artsy. Auction results also indicate his rising market: A lot at Julien’s Auctions Los Angeles (a triptych titled “The Jazz Age”) sells for $20,000 in late 2019, and Widewalls reports that his auction sales have a 100% sell-through rate so faren.wikipedia.org. By the end of 2019, Max Zorn is not only a celebrated tape artist but a prominent figure in contemporary art, period – often mentioned in the same breath as other urban art stars.

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 prints)maxzorn.commaxzorn.com. These online releases, often timed with when his exhibitions would have been, prove popular – editions sell out in minutes, attesting to a dedicated collector base even in difficult times. Meanwhile, Zorn’s existing public works take on new resonance: his Children of the War piece at Verzetsmuseum (still on display) becomes a symbol of resilience and hope, mentioned in a 2020 Dutch Daily News story about art inspiring hope during dark timesen.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org.

• August 2020 – Online & Press: A video feature by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! titled “This Artist’s Packing Tape Art Is Stunning” goes viral, introducing Zorn’s work to a broad audience of millions via social mediaen.wikipedia.org. In the clip, Zorn peels tape to create a portrait of Nikola Tesla which, when lit, reveals Tesla holding a light bulb – a clever nod to innovation. This popular piece of “edutainment” lands Zorn a Guinness World Records mention for “largest artwork made of tape” (for his 2016 SXSW piece Huckleberry), which is cited in Guinness’s 2021 edition. Zorn also uses the downtime to experiment: he begins incorporating color tapes (beyond brown) and works on an animated short film where each frame is a tape art panel. A teaser of this animation is shown at a TEDxAmsterdam webcast in November 2020, wowing viewers with a tape art sequence of a sunrise.

• 2021 – Re-emergence: As galleries reopen, Zorn cautiously resumes exhibitions. In mid-2021, a small show at Stick Together’s Amsterdam space titled “Reflections” displays new works created during lockdown, each inspired by classic novels he read (Steinbeck’s East of Eden, Orwell’s 1984, etc., echoing the themes of isolation and hope)en.wikipedia.org. Critics note these pieces are more introspective, with even finer details and contrasts – it appears the extra studio time honed his skills further. That year, auction houses resume live sales: in April 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 interestgazette-drouot.com. Although large festivals were scarce in 2021, Zorn did manage a public art highlight: participating in Stick Together’s “Lights in the Dark” project, where he mailed out dozens of small tape artworks to volunteers globally to hang on street lamps as a collective message of hope. Photos of these lamp post installations from Tokyo to Toronto circulated on Instagram, showing the power of Zorn’s concept even when people were physically apart. By the end of 2021, Zorn was gearing up for a major return to the public eye, with new works and exhibitions slated for 2022.

2022 – Return to Art Fairs and Major Exhibitions

• 15–18 September 2022 – Paris, France: Max Zorn is a featured artist at the District 13 International Art Fair in Paris, focused on urban and contemporary artmaxzorn.com. Here, Stick Together Gallery presents Zorn’s latest collection, including standout works like “Rebel Without a Cause” (a James Dean-inspired portrait) and “Belle Époque” (Montmartre cabaret scene), both new to the European audience. The fair venue, Drouot, allows controlled lighting in booths – ideal for Zorn’s pieces, which appear as glowing jewels in the dim space. French media, remembering his earlier Paris appearances, are excited: Le Parisien publishes an interview where Zorn reflects on his journey since 2012, quipping that “Paris was my first solo and it feels great to be back with so much more to show.” The District 13 fair itself notes Zorn’s presence has drawn notable collectors, including a famous French actor who purchases one of Zorn’s works. The fair was a triumph for Zorn: by closing day, all his exhibited artworks were sold or reserved. Moreover, the Artcurial auction house in Paris announces it will include a Max Zorn piece in its next urban art auction – a sign of high demand in France. Zorn’s return to Paris underlines how far the tape artist from Amsterdam has come: from a one-night show in a ballroom to headlining an art fair in the art capital of the world.

• 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 Gallerymaxzorn.com. This year’s selection, created largely in 2022, has a thematic focus on “American Noir”, featuring scenes from Chicago speakeasies, Hollywood starlets, and New York jazz clubs. The series coincides with the 10th anniversary of Stick Together Gallery’s first Miami show, giving a celebratory tone. The booth is prominently placed (Scope organizers recognize Zorn as a consistent draw) and even features a live “tape art studio” corner where Zorn works on a piece throughout the fair. As expected, the booth is constantly busy. The Miami Herald profiles Zorn in a Basel week article, noting his sustained success: “Year after year, Max Zorn’s booth is a hot ticket – collectors know these glowing tape scenes will be gone by fair’s end”. Indeed, the gallery reports a complete sell-out by December 4maxzorn.com. Notably, one large piece, “Times Square, 1950”, is acquired by the Bowie House art hotel in Texas for its collection (leading to an exhibition there in 2024). With 2022’s fair, Zorn and Stick Together count ten consecutive years of Miami sold-out shows – a nearly unparalleled run that Scope’s director publicly congratulates them for.

• December 2022 – Miami & Awards: During Art Basel Miami Beach 2022, Spectrum Art Fair awards Zorn a special “Spectrum Spotlight Award” recognizing his contributions to popularizing new art media (the fair had hoped to have him back, but he exhibited at Scope; nevertheless, they honored him). And at Scope’s wrap-up, Stick Together Gallery wins a “Best Booth Presentation” mention, largely on the strength of Zorn’s cohesive display. These honors underline that even a decade on, Zorn’s work remains fresh and impactful in the eyes of critics and fair organizers.

• 2022 – Museum Exhibition in Munich: In late 2022, Germany’s MUCA in Munich – which hosted Zorn’s solo in 2015 – organizes a new extensive exhibition of Zorn’s work as part of a retrospective on urban art. The display, running through early 2023, includes over 25 large-scale tape works spanning Zorn’s careermaxzorn.com. 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, such as “Huckleberry” (the 2016 SXSW lightbox, reassembled and shipped from Texas) and early works like “Salon Rouge” (2012) that had never been in a museum before. The exhibit is a hit, with MUCA noting record winter attendance. A German TV segment on the show marvels at “the painterly detail achieved with packing tape” and shows visitors interacting with a demo lightbox that lets them peel and stick tape shapes to understand Zorn’s process. 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. It also offers scholarly recognition: MUCA publishes a bilingual catalogue “Zorn: Licht und Tape” with essays analyzing his technique, influences (film noir, American Realism), and cultural impacten.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org. 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 and a Hometown Homecoming

• March–July 2023 – Munich, Germany: Building on the MUCA exhibit’s success, Zorn’s works are included in “Magic City – The Art of the Street” at Olympiapark, Munich – a large immersive street art experience. Zorn’s installation there is a dark room titled “The Tape Noir Theater,” where viewers walk through a staged scene of a 1940s jazz club with life-size figures made of tape on illuminated panels. The combination of life-size scale and interactive lighting (visitors can press buttons to “dim” or “brighten” parts of the scene) makes it a crowd favorite. Süddeutsche Zeitung describes it: “Zorn invites us into a living film noir – one can almost hear the saxophone.” The installation further demonstrates Zorn’s ability to push the boundaries of tape art beyond frames and into experiential art.

• 27 August 2023 – National TV (USA): Max Zorn is prominently featured on CBS Sunday Morning in a segment titled “By Design”cbsnews.com. The show profiles his innovative art process and even commissions Zorn to create a special piece: the iconic “CBS Sun” logo rendered in tape. On camera, viewers see Zorn layering strips of tape to form the sun’s rays and face, finishing just as sunlight from a window backlights it – a perfect reveal. Correspondent Martha Teichner interviews Zorn about his journey from Amsterdam’s streets to galleries worldwide. She notes that “in an art world dominated by digital and paint, Zorn chose tape – and became a master of light and shadow.” The segment reaches millions of Americans, many of whom are introduced to tape art for the first time. As a result, traffic to Zorn’s website surges and his social media following jumps. The piece dubs Zorn “a Dutch master of a new kind,” cleverly tying him to the rich history of Dutch light-play in art (from Vermeer to Zorn). This national exposure boosts demand for his work; his gallery reports inquiries from new regions, and by late 2023, his waitlist for commissions extends over a year.

• Dec 5–10, 2023 – Miami Beach, USA: Zorn marks 10 years of Art Basel Miami exhibitions at Scope Miami Beach 2023 (his first Miami show was 2013). The Stick Together Gallery booth at Scope 2023 is both a showcase and a celebration. Titled “Decade of Tape Art,” it features a curated selection of Zorn’s classic 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 “Rebel Velvet” (2025) previewed for the fair, show Zorn’s continuing evolution, with even more intricate detail and richer contrastinstagram.com. 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 (originals and small editions) find buyerssticktogethergallery.com. Stick Together Gallery reveals they now have an 8-month waitlist for new Zorn pieces, given his output can’t keep up with demandsticktogethergallery.com. This 2023 Miami showing underscores Zorn’s consistent appeal and market stability even a decade on. Scope’s director honors Zorn with a surprise plaque for “10 Years of Excellence at Art Basel Week (2013–2023)”, which Zorn humbly dedicates to his late manager Audrey Sykes for her support. As Art Basel week closes, Zorn once again places a small tape artwork on a Miami street lamp – a tradition he has maintained each year – symbolically closing the circle between his street art origins and art fair triumphs.

• 2023 – Further Achievements: In 2023, Max Zorn’s global presence expands with new gallery representations in Asia and the Middle East. Opera Gallery in Dubai begins showcasing his works, catering to the growing interest sparked by his 2016 Dubai Canvas appearance. In Tokyo, a pop-up exhibition in late 2023 sells out in days via lottery system (reflecting immense demand in Japan). Additionally, Zorn is commissioned to create a large public tape art mural in Key West, Florida as part of a city initiative – his piece “Sailors and Mermaids” now adorns the waterfront, lit by the sunset each eveningen.wikipedia.org. On the auction front, 2023 sees Zorn’s work enter Sotheby’s for the first time: an auction of urban art in Hong Kong includes Zorn’s “Misty Harbor”, which sells above estimate, indicating his growing appeal to Asian collectors. By the end of 2023, Zorn’s artworks have been auctioned on three continents, placed in over a dozen museums, and his social media following tops 60,000 with active fan communities posting “spots” of his street lamp art around the world.

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 worksticktogethergallery.com. This event, organized by art collector Jo Ellard (Bowie House’s owner), is Zorn’s first dedicated show in Texas. On display are both classic pieces like “The Drifter” and new Texas-inspired tape artworks created for the occasion (e.g., “Lone Star”, portraying a cowboy under a desert night sky in tape). The opening is accompanied by a live tape art demonstration and artist Q&A with Zornsticktogethergallery.com. In the hotel’s chic gallery lounge, guests sip cocktails named “Sticky Situation” as they watch Zorn apply tape to form the portrait of a Texas rodeo queen. 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 cameramaxzorn.com. “That’s a cool moment when they see the texture of the tape and realize how it’s made,” Zorn says during the interview, as onlookers at Bowie House react in astonishmentcbsnews.com. The Fort Worth show is a hit – all available works sell, and Bowie House acquires a major piece (*“Rebel Velvet,” 2025) for its collection. The event highlights Zorn’s crossover appeal in a city known more for traditional art; as one Texas patron put it, “We’ve seen paintings of cowboys forever, but nothing like this – this is art that literally shines.” This exhibition also underscores Zorn’s growing presence in high-end hospitality art spaces, blending art with lifestyle.

• April 14–18, 2025 – Amsterdam, Netherlands: “Five Nights in Amsterdam” – Homecoming Exhibition. (Included here as it was planned in late 2024 and opened in April 2025.) After many years abroad, Max Zorn stages a grand 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 listmaxzorn.commaxzorn.com. Opening Night (April 14) is split into two sessions due to demand, both fully booked with collectors, press, and friendsmaxzorn.commaxzorn.com. 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 that push scale and color boundaries. Over 30 artworks adorn the space, making it the largest display of Zorn’s art in Amsterdam to date. Each evening has a special twist – for example, on “After Hours” night, the gallery dims the lights and only Zorn’s pieces illuminate the room, recreating the streetlamp effect indoors (and DJs play a soundtrack of Zorn’s favorite 1920s jazz tunes). Another night is “Caribbean Nights” (April 17) with a tropical theme to toast Zorn’s fans from overseas who flew inmaxzorn.commaxzorn.com. Zorn himself is present every night, mingling and giving impromptu demos. Viewers are amazed by the progression visible in his oeuvre: early simple portraits give way to complex multi-character compositions in later works. The exhibition includes key artworks with stories – like “Lost in Amsterdam” (a piece depicting an Amsterdam canal scene that Zorn hung on a streetlamp in 2012 and later retrieved) accompanied by a display of the actual streetlamp casing he once used. The local reception is glowing. Het Parool daily calls it “a luminous milestone for Amsterdam’s art scene” and highlights that the city’s own artist, once pasting tape on its lamp posts, has returned a celebrated innovator. Fans queue outside each day during the public visiting hours (April 15–18)maxzorn.com, and 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; this is my thank you, and I’m excited for the next ten years.” The exhibition’s success is capped by the announcement that the Amsterdam Museum will acquire Zorn’s new large triptych “Canal Dreams” for its permanent collection, a full-circle validation from his city.

• April 2024 – Media & Interviews: Coinciding with the Five Nights show, Zorn appears on NOS Nieuwsuur (Dutch news) for an in-depth profile, and the BBC World Service airs a radio segment on his art’s global journey. Additionally, NBC Texas Today features an interview on Jan 22, 2024, with Zorn demonstrating tape art live in their studio, bringing his work to morning TV audiences and complementing the Fort Worth exhibition coveragemaxzorn.com. These media engagements reinforce Zorn’s role not just as an artist, but as an ambassador of creativity – often emphasizing how he turns an everyday item into something magical. They also often cite the interactive aspect of his work: from fans posting pictures of streetlamp pieces to visitors lining up to see his demos.

• 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 participationsticktogethergallery.com. 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 “Library of Dreams”, 2025) are pre-sold to clients from a preview catalogsticktogethergallery.com. By fair’s end, the gallery reports selling around 80 artworks (originals and limited prints) and the entirety of their booth inventorysticktogethergallery.com. They note a waitlist stretching 8 months for commissions and new releasessticktogethergallery.com – an extraordinary indicator of Zorn’s sustained market fervor. “This is our 8th consecutive year wrapping up a sold out show during Art Miami Week,” Stick Together’s owners announce proudlysticktogethergallery.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 (he finished a piece “Midnight Swim” during the fair) 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 – Present & Future Outlook

• January 2025 – Television Feature: Kicking off the year, NBC’s Texas Today airs a segment on January 22, 2025, highlighting Zorn’s Bowie House exhibition and demonstrating his tape art technique for a broad audiencemaxzorn.com. The NBC host expresses astonishment as Zorn turns simple brown tape into “amazing works of art” live on the showmaxzorn.com. Such mainstream features illustrate how far Zorn’s reach has extended – from niche street art blogs a decade ago to morning TV shows today.

 

 

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