Philipp Julian Dexheimer (b. 1991, Germany) is an artist based in Vienna whose work translates molecular biology into physical and mixed-media artworks. Each piece begins with the science, and the science determines the medium: a handmade mosaic to reflect the patchwork of cell types that composes a developing brain, 10.000 hand-painted oligonucleotide tubes to mark the first isolation of a eukaryotic gene, glass marbles cast in resin to capture progressive cell differentiation.

Before becoming a full-time artist, Dexheimer spent a decade investigating life in the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria. He completed a PhD studying RNA biology in embryonic development before pursuing a postdoc on protein folding in heart disease. For Dexheimer, Science and Art are expressions of the same act: observing a phenomenon and extracting an abstract essence from it, arriving at a principle more universally valid than the particular.

Being an artist at heart and a scientist in the mind, Dexheimer is driven by a beauty that lies not in appearances, but in the harmonious order of nature’s parts. His work expresses what researchers feel in the moment of discovery, when they see something no one has ever seen before. His artwork has been featured on the cover of Molecular Cell, Nature Methods, Cell Stem Cell, and other life science journals. Permanent installations include Locus (IMP Vienna) and Mosaic Brain (Human Technopole Milan).