Our story · Magnificent Matter

Small worlds.
A different
perspective.

There are worlds in the things we pass by. We make images that invite you to look again.

Magnificent Matter is a Berlin-based artist collective founded by Alexander Poletajev and Maximilian Schertz. We bring scientific curiosity and visual storytelling together, exploring matter through microscopy, photography and moving images.

Meet the practice
Detail of Saffron Horizon — No. 08430, with delicate dark outlines and a glowing yellow horizon.
Detail of Saffron Horizon — No. 08430 Discover the print ↗

Art meets science

Curiosity is
our starting point.

A microscope changes more than scale. Familiar materials reveal unfamiliar structures; a small detail can suggest a landscape, a current or a world of its own.

Our practice combines observation with experimentation. Microscopy, microfluidics and tools we develop ourselves help us explore how matter behaves and how light makes it visible. Photography turns these encounters into images.

We’re interested in the space between what is there and what you see in it. The titles offer a starting point. Your associations can take the image somewhere else.

Alexander Poletajev with a circular experimental apparatus fitted with syringes and tubing.
Alexander with experimental equipment. Curiosity takes many forms.

The people behind the images

Two perspectives.
One shared curiosity.

Science and visual practice meet in an ongoing conversation: testing, looking, making and looking again.

Portrait of Alexander Poletajev.

Alexander Poletajev

Co-founder · Scientific direction

Alexander brings a background in physics and computer science to the collective’s experiments, tools and exploration of the microscopic world.

Portrait of Maximilian Schertz.

Maximilian Schertz

Co-founder · Creative direction

Maximilian brings photography, film and motion design into the process, shaping how discoveries become images and experiences.

Beyond the still image

A practice
in motion.

Our work also moves through music videos, live visuals and audiovisual installations. Across these different forms, the starting point stays close: looking at the natural world and finding something unexpected in it.

The prints offer another pace. A still image can stay with you, quietly changing as your attention returns to a colour, a boundary or a detail you hadn’t noticed before.

Explore our wider work

From our collection to your wall

Art to spend
time with.

Our collection brings together 116 works, each available in three sizes. WhiteWall prints every order on Hahnemühle Photo Rag paper, with a matte surface and an unframed finish.

Choose an image that holds your attention. Give it a place in your everyday life. There is always another detail to find.

Find your print Paper, sizes & framing
Illustrative room view with Sunlit Estuary.
Illustrative interior · Prints sold unframed