In order to display video content from Vimeo, we use cookies on this page. Vimeo may collect personal data for analytical purposes. By clicking "Accept", you agree to this data processing. Further information and the possibility to revoke your consent can be found in our privacy policy.

Karl Kunz

Fantastic Bodies

Temporary Exhibition
Multi coloured oil painting of a seated woman
Karl Kunz, Damenbildnis (Seated Woman), 1964, oil with collage (e.g. two photographs by Wolfgang Kunz) on hardboard, 130 x 100 cm, verso: signed and dated. Shown with kind permission of the Karl Kunz estate Berlin
11/27/25
2/8/26

The figures in the works of German painter Karl Kunz (1905–1971) transcend the boundaries of human anatomy, find themselves in unreal, dreamlike scenarios and dissolve into abstract colour fields. Kunz's vivid, multi-coloured, exuberant compositions are strongly influenced by Surrealism, but also testify to his interest in contemporary artists such as Pablo Picasso, Oskar Schlemmer, and Max Ernst. The young painter's career was harshly interrupted by the Nazi regime when he was forced to leave his post at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle in 1933. Until the end of World War II, he was unable to exhibit publicly and practiced his art in secret. Nevertheless, Kunz developed into one of the most innovative German figure painters of the post-war period. Although he participated in the Allgemeine Deutsche Kunstausstellung in Dresden in 1946 and exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 1954, he is only loosely anchored in the art historical canon. Thus, Kunz is a true rediscovery today.

The exhibition “Fantastic Bodies” shows the originality and innovative power of Kunz's oeuvre taking his depiction of the human figure as an example. It focuses on his early work, explores art historical references and the absorbing web of interpersonal relationships on his canvases. It shows his fantastic figures, which are equally imbued with eros and transience, in the space between reality and the unconscious and on the edge of non-representationalism.

The exhibition is on view until February 8, 2026.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

Unknown photographer, Karl Kunz Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle, 1931. Photograph: Karl Kunz estate Berlin
Karl Kunz, Im Frauenhaus (In the Women's Shelter), December 1963, oil with collage (study of a nude) on hardboard, 130 x 108 cm, signed 12.63 K.Kunz, on the drawing 8.62 K.Kunz. Shown with kind permission of the Karl Kunz estate Berlin
Karl Kunz, Stillleben (Still Life), January 1970, oil with collage on hardboard, 128,5 x 100 cm, signed 1.70 K.Kunz. Shown with kind permission of the Karl Kunz estate Berlin
Karl Kunz, Röntgenmaschine (X-ray Machine), June 1955, oil with pencil on hardboard, 150,5 x 100,5 cm, signed VI.55 K.Kunz. Shown with kind permission of the Karl Kunz estate Berlin
Karl Kunz, Dreiklang (Triad), July 1962, oil with collage (pencil drawing) on hardboard, 130 x 200 cm, signed 6.62 K.Kunz. Shown with the kind permission of the Karl Kunz estate Berlin
Karl Kunz, Dame um 1900 (Lady circa 1900), May 1951, oil with collage on hardboard, 136 x 120 cm, signed "Mai 51 K.Kunz". Shown with kind permission of the Karl Kunz estate Berlin
Unknown photographer, Karl Kunz Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle, 1931. Photograph: Karl Kunz estate Berlin
Karl Kunz, Röntgenmaschine (X-ray Machine), June 1955, oil with pencil on hardboard, 150,5 x 100,5 cm, signed VI.55 K.Kunz. Shown with kind permission of the Karl Kunz estate Berlin
Karl Kunz, Im Frauenhaus (In the Women's Shelter), December 1963, oil with collage (study of a nude) on hardboard, 130 x 108 cm, signed 12.63 K.Kunz, on the drawing 8.62 K.Kunz. Shown with kind permission of the Karl Kunz estate Berlin
Karl Kunz, Dreiklang (Triad), July 1962, oil with collage (pencil drawing) on hardboard, 130 x 200 cm, signed 6.62 K.Kunz. Shown with the kind permission of the Karl Kunz estate Berlin
Karl Kunz, Stillleben (Still Life), January 1970, oil with collage on hardboard, 128,5 x 100 cm, signed 1.70 K.Kunz. Shown with kind permission of the Karl Kunz estate Berlin
Karl Kunz, Dame um 1900 (Lady circa 1900), May 1951, oil with collage on hardboard, 136 x 120 cm, signed "Mai 51 K.Kunz". Shown with kind permission of the Karl Kunz estate Berlin

Documents

Press

Aktuelles

No items found.
No items found.
No items found.