Michael Rottmann

Michael Rottmann will join the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) as a Visiting Professor of Art History at the Institute of Art and Architectural History from October 2024. His research explores the intersections of art and science, technology and media, and design and ecology, with a particular focus on 20th/21st-century art, digital image theory, and creative methodologies.

• Education: PhD in Art History (2013, Freie Universität Berlin); MA in Media Theory (DFG Graduate School "Schriftbildlichkeit"); degrees in Mathematics (University of Stuttgart) and Art Education (State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart).
• Prior Roles: Postdoc/Senior Researcher at FHNW Basel Academy of Art and Design (2017–2022, including SNSF Ambizione project "Automated Innovations"); Postdoc at KIT (ERC project COSE); Lecturer at Peter Behrens School of Arts (Düsseldorf) and institutions like University of Applied Arts Vienna.
• Research Themes: Interdisciplinary connections between art and mathematics, machine arts, prehistory of 3D printing, and ecocritical approaches to art. His book Gestaltete Mathematik (2024) examines mathematical influences on mid-20th-century American art.
• Curatorial Work: Co-curator of the exhibition Genau und anders (Exactly and Different) at mumok Vienna.
• Collaborations: Involved with the INGRID database for graffiti research and public programs like KIT's Choose Your Filter! exhibition at ZKM.