Michael van Ofen (b. Essen, Germany, 1956) trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf. Following an important solo show at Haus Lange and Esters at Krefeld (1991), he has exhibited widely throughout the USA, Europe and Japan, most recently with a retrospective at Kunstmuseum Dieselkraftwerk, Cottbus (2010). He lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany.