Hans Kotter was born in 1966 in Mühldorf am Inn in Bavaria, Germany. He was enchanted by neon light from an early age. Initially he chooses photography, but when he is confronted with the possibilities of manipulating light and colored light par excellence, he focuses more and more on creating images with these elements.
In 1993 he left for New York for a year where he studied at the Art Students League and between 2001 and 2003 he was enrolled in the Media Design department at the Art Academy in Munich. After this period he opted for autonomous artistry and left for Berlin, where he has lived and worked as a light artist ever since.
He was soon noticed and his work was shown at many prestigious exhibitions. His light installations place him in a tradition of artists who have also focused on working with light, movement, technology and perception, such as Dan Flavin, Francois Morellet, Heinz Mack and Otto Piene. Hans Kotter also has great admiration for the light installations of William Turrell.