What happens when the essence of Baroque painting is uncovered in order to combine it directly with contemporary impulses?
Felix Kindelán asked himself this question one day. Since then, he has been using his iconic pictorial language to develop the combination of Baroque design principles with contemporary ideas. The moment the question was formulated in the painter's mind, Felix Kindelán gained access to his stylistic development. It is a creative force within the painter himself that drives him. More precisely, it is a resonance of paintings that call out to him from the depths of his sensibilities. Calling him to help with their birth. By perceiving these calls, Felix Kindelán comes to terms with his own past and the transience of personality. Whether love that has been carried on or suppressed pain – his works are questions about life, its lights and shadows. Dealing with fears, loneliness, emotional violence and the feeling of inner emptiness provide powerful sources of inspiration for the self-taught painter. In a baroque manner, Felix Kindelán places figures on the canvas that embody a feeling, a suffering, a view of things themselves. Years of self-study of human anatomy and baroque painting form the visual framework for the large-format paintings.
”Is there a minuet being danced or is it a scuffle? And is someone being lovingly embraced or viciously put in a headlock? You automatically ask yourself what has happened, how the individual scenes came about. Felix Kindelán's powerful and loud images show interactions between people, make you curious about the stories behind them and captivate you with their dynamics, which sometimes seem contradictory.” Dominique Simonnot, bz – newspaper for the region of Basel
Felix Kindelán was born in Berlin in 1992. In his youth, the city's urban art scene introduced the German-Cuban to art. Parallel to graffiti on walls and trains in Berlin, his interest in the craft of painting grew. First there were photorealistic drawings, soon followed by photorealistic acrylic paintings. After years of intensive exploration of this style and urban art, Felix Kindelán realized that neither would help him achieve deep expression. In the end, the one only meant abstract typography for him, the other dependence on what already existed. These insights led him to the question posed at the beginning: What happens when the essence of Baroque painting is uncovered in order to connect it directly with contemporary impulses? Based on this question, Felix Kindelán turned to anatomy in order to create figures and their interactions according to his own ideas. From then on, the painter researched the origins of modern painting and of himself. Mannerism and the Baroque era, combined with an examination of his own existence, have defined the work of the self-taught painter ever since. His existential view of life, translated into paintings of old-masterly grace, invites the viewer into a dialog of self-reflection.
Today, the originally trained media designer lives and works in Basel, Switzerland. In the past, he has worked as an illustrator and designer for board games, hiking books and children's books.
Contact
mail@felix-kindelan.com
@felixkindelan
Exhibitions
Group
2023, We are Part of Culture; Projekt 100% Mensch; Zurich, CH
2023, Meet the Artist; Netz Art Consult; Rheinfelden, CH
2021, Ausstellung im Jahreswechsel; Lakeside Gallery; Zug, CH
2021, Completely Happy 3.0; NOW Werbeagentur; Basel, CH
2020, Ausstellung im Jahreswechsel; Lakeside Gallery; Zug, CH
2021, Abstrakte Schönheit; Lakeside Gallery; Zug, CH
2018, Affordable Art Fair; ARTvergnuegen; Hamburg, D
2017, Mixed Art Basel Vol. 8; Galerie zum Harnisch; Basel Art Center; Basel, CH
2017, Basel Art after Art Basel; Novum Investments; Basel Art Center; Basel, CH
2017, We are Part of Culture; Projekt 100% Mensch; Berlin, D
2017, Affordable Art Fair; ARTvergnuegen; Hamburg, D
Solo
2022, Angekommen; Lakeside Gallery; Zug, CH
Publications
2023, Contemporary Art Curator Magazine; Interview (Link)
2023, bz – Zeitung für die Region Basel; Article (Link)
2023, Artlife and Style; Interview (Link)
2023, Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art Magazine, Issue 13
2023, 99 Future Blue-Chip Artists; artsted.com; Book feature
2023, Bilt Collection; Portrait film (Link)
2023, SRF Kultur; Reel Instargram (Link)
2022, Viral. Magazin; Reel Instagram (Link)
2022, Mazz ab! Vollbart nachgefragt; Podcast guest
2016, Kaltblut Magazin; Article (Link)