Cityscape artist Martin Köster was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1988. After graduating with a diploma in Law from Leibniz University of Hanover in 2014, he began working as a professional artist.

He discovered his passion for art at a young age, starting with detailed uber-realistic pencil drawings in black and white.

"When I was very little, I was only drawing with a pencil -- I wanted to learn the hard way, and I enjoyed that because the pencil doesn't lie," he said. "When you do abstract art, you can fix things easily, but that's not possible with a pencil. I was impressed by artists who could paint and draw exactly what they saw in a hyper-realistic manner, and it was a goal of mine. But it changed for me over time because it became predictable and not open to interpretation."

After many years of working with pencil, a friend encouraged him to begin painting with color. Though it wasn't something he was immediately comfortable with, he said he realized there was more to art than the hyperrealistic style he had admired for so long.

"I fell in love with oil painting and color, so I started applying that to the cityscape work I had already been doing," he said. "It was a huge change in my life, and I liked it so much because I didn't have to paint in such a realistic manner anymore. Now my work has realistic elements but the rest is totally abstract."

On Saturday, Köster will see the opening of his first show in Aspen at the Aspen Art Gallery located at 427 E. Hyman Ave. This will be the artist's first visit to Aspen a place he described as "a small town that is famous everywhere."

Aspen Art Gallery founder and owner Damian Guillot said he was introduced to Köster by another artist he represents in Europe and was immediately blown away by the mood and energy of his cityscapes.

"The details in his work are very intricate and just take you into the feeling of being in New York City," Guillot said. "He's probably the best street scene artist I've ever seen."

He will host the artist as he live paints at the gallery from noon to 4 p.m. Afterward, there will be an artist reception and cocktail party from 6-8 p.m.

Köster's work primarily represents what it feels like to be in a big city, which he demonstrates through moody colors and the perception of movement. He most often works off photographs he takes while visiting and reinterpretates them. He plans to focus his next series on Hong Kong at night.

"I am a person who likes adventure, and in a big city, you can live the adventure more than in a small town," he explained. "I grew up in a small town, which is very nice, but you learn everything about it quickly. But in a city, it's like going into the jungle with layers of discovery. It's impossible to discover all of New York City at one time; it is constantly evolving. Most cities are like that, and I want to discover them all."

And while he has a studio in Hanover and a home in Mykonos, he said his favorite place to paint is on a rooftop above a metropolis.

"I like the loneliness of being alone on a rooftop looking down but being surrounded by the energy of the city below -- that is the most fun for me," he said.

Ultimately though, he wants his paintings to bring the viewer back to a memory or feeling that they may have felt at another time in their lives.

"If the viewer can experience this adventure, too, then I am very happy," he said. "If they look at my paintings, like looking at an old photograph, and remember their own stories and it inspires them, then I feel like I have succeeded."