Daniel Knorr is a Romanian contemporary artist whose work explores political and theoretical issues, often using provocative materials and concepts. Born in 1968 in Bucharest, Knorr's artistic journey began at the age of 14 when he fled to Germany with his family. He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, where he was a student of the influential artist Daniel Spoerri. Moving to Berlin in the early 1990s, he developed his work on social, economic and biopolitical themes.

Knorr's art uses controversial materials such as cocaine, molds of pits and smoke. His work deals with issues of representation, emptiness and the symbolic structure of the imagination. One of his most prominent works, Smoking in the Museum (2012), addresses global debates about health care and the tension between smokers and non-smokers. According to Knorr, this work is an embodiment of contemporary biopolitics and demonstrates the ways in which the state exercises power and control through cultural-political debates.

His work is participatory and conceptual, suggesting the intersections of art and its grand history with socio-political phenomena. One of them is Expiration Movement, first exhibited at documenta 14 in 2017, which involved the continuous release of white smoke from the Zwehrenturm in Kassel for 10 hours every day for 163 days. His 2005 Venice Biennale work European Influenza, which initiated debates about nationalism and identity issues in Europe, is also an important contribution.

Knorr's work has been exhibited in major international institutions such as the Migros Museum in Zurich, the Stasi Museum in Leipzig and the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich. His work addresses global issues and invites viewers to reflect on politics, identity and the role of art in creating change and debate.