Friedrich Kunath

“Abendlied” by Hanns Dieter Hüsch

Butterfly is coming home

Little bear is coming home

Kangaroo is coming home

The lights aglow, the day is done.

Codfish is swimming home

Elephant is walking home

Ant is racing home

The lights aglow, the day is done.

Fox and goose are coming home

Cat and mouse are coming home

Man and woman are coming home

The lights aglow, the day is done.

All is asleep and all is awake,

All is in tears and all is laughter,

All is silence and all is chatter,

And sadly, we’ll never know it all.

All is screaming and all is listening,

All is dreaming and then in life,

All will be replaced again one day.

Already the evening sits atop our home,

Butterfly is flying home

Wild horse is bolting home

Older child is coming home

The lights aglow, the day is done.

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 I’ll Try to Be More Romantic, Kunstsammlung 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, 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); 7 x 14, Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Germany (2009); and Home Wasn't Built in a Day, Kunstverein Hannover, Germany (2009). 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.