Friedrich Kunath
Friedrich Kunath
January 14 – February 25, 2023Los Angeles
May 13 – June 24, 2023Tokyo
Friedrich Kunath
September 7 – October 19, 2019Tokyo
July 21 – August 15, 2020Los Angeles
Friedrich Kunath
November 7, 2018 – January 26, 2019New York
September 12 – October 27, 2018New York
Friedrich Kunath
September 9 – October 14, 2017Los Angeles
Curated by Alison M. Gingeras
September 9 – October 17, 2015New York
Friedrich Kunath
September 8 – October 27, 2012Los Angeles
July 3 – August 28, 2010Los Angeles
October 3 – November 14, 2009Los Angeles
Friedrich Kunath
October 24 – December 6, 2008Los Angeles
Friedrich Kunath
March 4 – April 8, 2006Los Angeles
Friedrich Kunath
April 3 – May 1, 2004Los Angeles
Broadcasts
Friedrich Kunath
May 29, 2020
Biography
Friedrich Kunath (b. 1974, Chemnitz, Germany) studied at the Braunschweig University of Arts, Braunschweig, Germany and now lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. Kunath utilizes a personal style of romantic conceptualism, layering poetic phrases with poignant, often melancholy imagery. The work embraces comedy and pathos, evoking universal feelings of love, hope, longing, and despair. The artist’s personal journey from Germany to Los Angeles plays a key role in his work, incorporating German Romanticism and western popular culture, with still life, cartoon imagery, commercial illustration, nature photography, and lyrical references.
The first major monograph devoted to Kunath’s life and work was published in 2018 by Rizzoli Electa, featuring contributions by James Elkins, James Frey, Ariana Reines, and John McEnroe.
Kunath has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions including Coming Home Was As Beautiful As Going Away, KINDL - Centre for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany (2023); There Must Be A Spanish Word For This Feeling, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, Spain (2023); I’ll Try to Be More Romantic, Kunstsammlung Jena, Jena, Germany (2021); Juckreiz, Sammlung Philara, Düsseldorf, Germany (2016); A Plan to Follow Summer Around the World, Centre d'art Contemporain d'Ivry - le Crédac, Ivry-sur-Seine, France (2014); Raymond Moody's Blues, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, UK (2013); Your Life is Not for You, Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Germany (2012); Lonely Are the Free, Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin, Germany (2011); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA (2010); Kunstsaele, Berlin, Germany (2010). His work is also featured in prominent public and private collections such as the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA; Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA; Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Pinault Collection, Paris, France; and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, among many more.
Selected Works
News
Margarete Jakschik and Friedrich Kunath: Only Lovers Left | Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Germany
03/16/2024
Friedrich Kunath: Coming Home Was As Beautiful As Going Away | KINDL – Centre for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany
03/26/2023
Artillery: Friedrich Kunath
03/07/2023
Friedrich Kunath: There Must Be A Spanish Word For This Feeling | CAC Málaga, Spain
02/17/2023
The Hollywood Reporter: Frieze Week: Meet Four Artists Exploring the “Sunshine and Noir” of L.A.
02/16/2023
ArtReview: How to Paint a Bored and Exhausted Era
02/14/2023
Related Publications
Friedrich Kunath: Songs Build Little Rooms in Time
Friedrich Kunath: Songs Build Little Rooms in Time – Special Edition
Friedrich Kunath: I Don't Worry Anymore
Friedrich Kunath: You Owe Me a Feeling
Friedrich Kunath: I used to be darker but then I got lighter and then I got darker again
Friedrich Kunath: Home Wasn't Built in a Day
Friedrich Kunath: Rising vs. Setting
The Avant-Garde Won't Give Up: Cobra and its Legacy