Painter and installation artist Franz Ackermann (German, b.1963) was born in Neumarkt-Sankt Veit in Bavaria. From 1984 to 1988, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, then, from 1989 to 1991, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg under Bernhard Blume. In the 1990s, he began the series Mental Maps. These small-scale watercolor and gouache sketches were produced during his travels around the world. The works depict semi-realistic architectural views, biomorphic ornamentation, and cartographic elements mixed with abstract, bright areas of color and geometric constructions. Ackermann combines these Mental Maps with photographs and found objects to create large-scale installations. His wall design The Great Journey (2003) can be seen in the Munich subway station Georg-Brauchle-ring. Often, his works can be understood as a critical and political commentary on the issues of tourism and globalization, such as African Diamond, with abstracted map sections covered by African sculpture in the shape of a diamond. Since 2001, Ackermann has been a professor of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe. His works have been shown at White Cube gallery in London, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdem, and The Museum of Modern Art in New York. Ackermann lives and works in Berlin.