The publishing house Mark Pezinger has been issuing Max Leiß' Ausgabe# (Issue) since 2011. It is announced in the publisher's programme as the artist's 'personal publication' - and yet it confounds all the general ideas of a publication: mechanical reproduction and broad availability. In most instances unique pieces, 28 issues of Ausgabe# have appeared in irregular intervals since 2011. Most of them employ the folders of the Meisterwerke der Kunst series, which the artist commandeers through collage and cut-outs in order then to collect diverse materials such as prints, photographs, copies, text fragments or even contributions from other artists inside. All the elements used form a sculptural inventory and vocabulary which future Ausgabe# editions can avail of, which can be used again. Thus Ausgabe# becomes an artistic field for experimentation where Leiß can bring his ideas and thoughts together physically and visually in order to create new connections in the interplay of fragments. What is manifested to the viewer in the process may at first appear like a rather chaotic portfolio of pages. But allow it time, and a space opens up in which it is possible to get to know the artist's references and sources and to dive into a game of associations. Ausgabe# should thus be literally understood as a Gabe - a gift - from the artist to his viewers, inviting their willingness to create their own narratives and thought and thus a truly 'personal publication'.  (Thomas Geiger, 2016)

with contributions by: Anja Braun, Jörg Gelbke, David Berweger, Thomas Geiger, Thomas Hauri, Balz Isler, Assen Janev, Béla Pablo Janssen, Felix Oehmann, Fabian Orasch, Carolina Perez Pallares, Christian Rothmaler, Sarah Schlenker, Marten Georg Schmid, Jessica Twitchell, Oana Paula Vainer, Yann Vanderme, Johannes Wald <<