Artist Statement
On process, themes, and the pursuit of psychological presence in painting
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Short Statement
In my work, I focus on small, often overlooked moments in which the body reveals something internal.
Hands often play a central role, as their tension, hesitation, or uncertainty can express more than a face.
Before painting, I work in the studio with short, simple movement studies. These create small gestures or postures that are visible only for a brief moment. They are not staged or theatrical, but arise from an inner tension.
I look for those quiet, charged moments in which the figure reveals something without showing it directly. The detailed execution of the painting is meant to make this psychological density perceptible.
In my work, I focus on small, often overlooked moments in which the body reveals something internal.
Hands often play a central role, as their tension, hesitation, or uncertainty can express more than a face.
Before painting, I work in the studio with short, simple movement studies. These create small gestures or postures that are visible only for a brief moment. They are not staged or theatrical, but arise from an inner tension.
I look for those quiet, charged moments in which the figure reveals something without showing it directly. The detailed execution of the painting is meant to make this psychological density perceptible.
Extended Statement
Origins & Motivation
Drawing was part of everyday life at home. My father, a carpenter, and my mother, a tailoress, were constantly sketching plans and patterns. Yet their drawings always felt abstract or unfinished to me. Maybe that’s where my desire for form comes from — not just as surface, but as something that holds a deeper presence.
Drawing was part of everyday life at home. My father, a carpenter, and my mother, a tailoress, were constantly sketching plans and patterns. Yet their drawings always felt abstract or unfinished to me. Maybe that’s where my desire for form comes from — not just as surface, but as something that holds a deeper presence.
Themes & Conceptual Spaces
In my pursuit of underlying realities, I expand my intellectual framework through mythology, philosophy, and systemic psychology. Psychological tension is the central driving motif, exploring dynamics between individuals, within groups, and internally.
In my pursuit of underlying realities, I expand my intellectual framework through mythology, philosophy, and systemic psychology. Psychological tension is the central driving motif, exploring dynamics between individuals, within groups, and internally.
Visual Language & Style
I work in a contemporary realism that references the past without getting stuck in it. Much of what I paint feels like memory — something slightly displaced, yet still present. My figures and elements are often allegorical; they open up interpretive spaces rather than providing clear messages.
I work in a contemporary realism that references the past without getting stuck in it. Much of what I paint feels like memory — something slightly displaced, yet still present. My figures and elements are often allegorical; they open up interpretive spaces rather than providing clear messages.
Technique & Materials
Oil painting is my central medium — it allows for the depth and physicality that suits my way of sensing things. I also work with lithography. The process of printmaking shifts the way I see and lets me approach my subjects from a new perspective.
Oil painting is my central medium — it allows for the depth and physicality that suits my way of sensing things. I also work with lithography. The process of printmaking shifts the way I see and lets me approach my subjects from a new perspective.
Process & Approach
My approach combines intuition and concept. Often one painting leads to the next, like links in a chain. Themes continue, transform, or resurface unexpectedly. Sometimes an image appears in my mind out of nowhere and won’t leave until it’s painted.
My approach combines intuition and concept. Often one painting leads to the next, like links in a chain. Themes continue, transform, or resurface unexpectedly. Sometimes an image appears in my mind out of nowhere and won’t leave until it’s painted.
Contemporary Resonance
My work reflects the present, though often indirectly. I try to view current questions through the lens of the past, placing them within broader contexts. My paintings rarely offer straightforward readings — they aim to suggest, condense, and leave space.
My work reflects the present, though often indirectly. I try to view current questions through the lens of the past, placing them within broader contexts. My paintings rarely offer straightforward readings — they aim to suggest, condense, and leave space.
Reception
What interests me most are the thoughts or feelings viewers bring to the work that shift my own perspective. I don’t expect my paintings to be understood in a specific way. But I welcome moments of resonance — or even interpretations I hadn’t considered. They deepen my relationship with the work.
What interests me most are the thoughts or feelings viewers bring to the work that shift my own perspective. I don’t expect my paintings to be understood in a specific way. But I welcome moments of resonance — or even interpretations I hadn’t considered. They deepen my relationship with the work.
Access to Painting
My path to painting was unexpected. It was actually a fortune teller who first suggested I express myself visually. Before that, I played double bass — music gave me an emotional outlet, but over time, I found sound too fleeting, too formless. Painting allows me to give a lasting shape to the intangible — to make the unspeakable visible, and to find a kind of stillness in that.
My path to painting was unexpected. It was actually a fortune teller who first suggested I express myself visually. Before that, I played double bass — music gave me an emotional outlet, but over time, I found sound too fleeting, too formless. Painting allows me to give a lasting shape to the intangible — to make the unspeakable visible, and to find a kind of stillness in that.
Film
A short portrait of Kurt Stimmeder — The hero’s journey, an emotional tool in the artistic process (2023).
A short portrait of Kurt Stimmeder — The hero’s journey, an emotional tool in the artistic process (2023).
Project description coming soon
A movie by:
Director: Lesja Kvitka
Edit: Ebrahim Eskandari
Camera: Amirali Bashiri
Music: Sashe Urdovski
Grading: Yazdan Zand
Year: 2023
Director: Lesja Kvitka
Edit: Ebrahim Eskandari
Camera: Amirali Bashiri
Music: Sashe Urdovski
Grading: Yazdan Zand
Year: 2023