STEFAN KÜRTEN: Tainted Love

Düsseldorf-based painter Stefan Kürten is exhibiting his works at the Krefeld Kunstverein—a return to a place that shaped him artistically. He had previously exhibited at the Museum Haus Esters in 2007. Now, the Kunstverein is presenting a new exhibition series dedicated to master’s students at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts.

Stefan Kürten, Too Much To Dream Last Night", 2026, Acryl und Tusche auf Karton/Holz

Kürten learned his craft in the 1980s under Michael Buthe at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. His artistic process is based on photographic research, in which he takes his own photographs or selects images from books—he is interested solely in the visual material, not the source. This leads to fascinating coincidences: In an earlier exhibition, photographer Volker Döhne recognized his own photographic motif in Kürten’s painting. The artist’s working method has refined itself over time. While his earlier works were created in oil on linen, he now prefers to use acrylics and ink on canvas. A consistent feature of his painting is a subtle, inner luminosity—achieved through a gold-toned undercoat onto which he applies his layers of paint. This technique has fundamentally transformed his approach to color. 
A defining feature of Kürten’s current works is the interweaving of different artistic styles: he complements his photographs of Krefeld’s architectural landmarks with depictions of trees by a 19th-century painter whose work holds a special emotional resonance for him. In this layering, artistic conception and personal appropriation merge into a new whole.

THE EXHIBITION WILL BE ON VIEW FROM AUGUST 14 TO NOVEMBER 1, 2026.

Krefelder Kunstverein e.V.
Buschüterhaus
Westwall 124
4798 Krefeld

More Information: Kunstverein Krefeld