From 11 June to 31 July 2009, Armin Mueller-Stahl is showing his most recent work as well as classics from his œuvre at Ketterer Kunst in Munich under the title Menschenbilder, Zyklen und Lebenslinien [Portraits, Cycles and Life Lines].
“It is a great honour to be able to show works by a universal genius such as Armin Mueller-Stahl. I am really delighted that we are in a position to present a contemporary artist of such stature,” thus Robert Ketterer, owner of Ketterer Kunst.
“What is so brilliant about Armin Mueller-Stahl is his complex talent, which makes him able to translate into drawing whatever he does as an actor. I don’t know who compares with him in this respect,” adds Frank-Thomas Gaulin of Kunsthaus Lübeck.
Born in Tilsit in what was then East Prussia in 1930, Armin Mueller-Stahl is, in company with Hermann Hesse, Ernst Barlach and Oskar Kokoschka, a multitalent in German art history. After passing his examinations as a concert violinist and music teacher, he became an actor, at first on the theatre stage and on television in the GDR as well as in DEFA films. In 1980 Armin Mueller-Stahl emigrated to West Germany, where he has since then dazzled audiences as a top-flight actor, who soon found his way to Hollywood to with international screen stars such as George Clooney, Michael Douglas, John Malkovich and Tom Hanks.
Not quite so well known but just as exciting is Armin Mueller-Stahl’s work as a writer and visual artist. Although he has been painting as a means of expression for over forty years, his work was not presented publicly in Germany until the 2001 spring exhibition at the Babelsberg Film Museum in Potsdam.
“Painting, writing, making music and acting simply belong together, as I see it,” says Armin Mueller-Stahl himself. And goes on to add: “Creative desire is an attempt to throw off the shackles of life.” Painting and drawing seem to be particularly helpful to him in this because they represent “the more honest proceedings” he feels. “Painting seeks the truth. Here what matters, unlike in writing, where good punch-lines count, is representing as authentically as possible in its entirety a figure telling someone something,” the artist explains.
Armin Mueller-Stahl’s visual works with a special focus on his prints have been documented at the Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesmuseen Schloß Gottorf on the initiative of Professor Dr. Herwig Guratzsch, who will retire as director of that institution at the end of May 2009.
Exhibition theme:
The exhibition Portraits, Cycles and Life Lines featuring painting and works on paper by Armin Mueller-Stahl will show a selection of his most recent work as well as highlights from the cycles “Urfaust”, “Night on Earth” and “Portraits of Artists”. The event is part of the celebrations on the occasion of the Grand Welcome Auctions with Summer Festival and Bauhaus special auction at Ketterer Kunst in Munich.
Exhibition duration:
11 June-31 July 2009 (daily except at weekends 9 am-6 pm, NOT on 19/20 June, because auctions of art works from the 15th – 21st centuries and the Bauhaus special auction are to be held on those dates.
Exhibition venue:
Ketterer Kunst, Joseph-Wild-Strasse 18, 81829 Munich-Riem (right at Neue Messe Munich, the new trade fair grounds)
Since it was founded in 1954, Ketterer Kunst has been firmly established in the front ranks of auction houses dealing in art and rare books with headquarters in Munich and a branch in Hamburg. Gallery rooms in Berlin as well as representatives in Heidelberg, Krefeld and Ravensburg have contributed substantially to the company’s success. Ketterer Kunst has further rounded off its portfolio by acquiring the prestigious Ernest Rathenau Verlag, New York/Munich. In addition, exhibitions, special themed auctions and benefit auctions for charity as well as online auctions are regular events at Ketterer Kunst.
Contact:
Ketterer Kunst
Joseph-Wild-Str. 18
81829 München
GERMANY
for press enquiries:
Michaela Derra M.A.
Telefon: +49-(0)89-55244-152 (Fax: -177)
E-Mail: [email protected]
for customers:
Miriam Krohne M.A.
Telefon: +49-(0)89-55244-149, Fax:-177
E-Mail: [email protected]
Annegret Thoma M.A.
Telefon: +49-(0)89-55244-143, Fax:-177
E-Mail: [email protected]
Julia Haußmann M.A.
Telefon: +49-(0)89-55244-245, Fax:-177
E-Mail: [email protected]
Image courtesy of Tabel-Gerster
