Stefan Kürten

Stefan Kürten’s paintings investigate the house as site of warmth and comfort, as idyll and symbol of a desirable lifestyle. The point of departure for his deliberations are 1950s and 1960s detached houses. He works from black-and-white photographs, changing the motif in order to emphasise the illustrative aspect. He adds different colours, and places ornamentation onto the silver and gold shimmering ground of his paintings. The real house becomes an archetype that has no concrete location. The human being as narrative figure is permanently absent from his interiors. Thus, these views of houses with interior spaces, gardens and endless details become a projection plane for the viewer’s own fantasies and ideas about life. Stefan Kürten’s paintings and the private villa Haus Esters, designed in 1928/29 by Mies van der Rohe, are ideal-types that complement each other. Architecture and painting debate the idea of the house as a container waiting to be filled with meaning. Stefan Kürten has already achieved success in the USA; this catalogue is the first presentation of his work in Germany.