Michael Kunze

Michael Kunze was born in 1961 in Munich, and currently lives and works in Berlin. He studied Philosophy at the Ludwig-Maximilian-University and painting at the Academy of Arts in Munich, and has been exhibited internationally since 1989. Kunze is represented by COMA in Berlin, Nicolas Krupp in Basel, and Thomas Rehbein in Cologne. His works have also been auctioned by the British auction house Sotheby's. Recognized as one of the most iconic German painters, in 2013 Michael Kunze was honored with a major retrospective at the Kunsthalle Dusseldorf, where works spanning over the past two decades were exhibited alongside a major publication. Earlier this year the artist was a recipient of the prestigious Hans-Platschek Prize in Karlsruhe, Germany. His works can be found in numerous public and private collections like the Nationalgalerie in Berlin, MMK museum in Frankfurt and the Goetz collection in Munich. Kunze is more recognisably a painter in terms of his technique, which involves traditional oil paints often applied thickly and quite dryly to engender an aged, impastoed appearance. His work reveals influences of Biblical tales, stories and symbols from the classical mythology of Ancient Greece, complex visions from the world of cinema, and narratives from science fiction.