Kurt Stimmeder

Born in 1972 in Bad Leonfelden, Austria, Kurt Stimmeder is a contemporary visual artist specializing in oil painting and lithography. Since 2008, he has lived and worked in Linz, where he has continuously developed his artistic vision.

His work is distinguished by a compelling blend of figurative representation, psychological tension, and allegory. In his paintings and lithographs, body language serves as a central means of expression, creating visual spaces that powerfully merge past and present. Technically precise yet sensually open, his pieces reveal a multi-layered narrative depth.

Stimmeder’s creative process is marked by an intense reflection on the human condition, combining traditional techniques with contemporary visual languages. His artistic approach invites viewers to explore hidden tensions and inner worlds within his figures.

Since 2010, Stimmeder has regularly exhibited his works in solo and group shows across Europe, Asia, and the USA. Notable venues include the London Biennale, Clio Art Fair in New York, CONTEXT Art Basel Miami Week, as well as exhibitions in Paris, Tokyo, and Munich. His work has received multiple international recognitions, including a shortlist placement at the prestigious tARTget Painting Prize.

Kurt Stimmeder is renowned for his profound insight into human emotions and his ability to narrate stories with every line and shade, leaving a lasting impression on his audience.


Artist Statement

I grew up in a world where drawing was part of daily life. My father, a carpenter, and my mother, a seamstress, constantly worked with lines, forms, and patterns. Yet their sketches always seemed abstract or unfinished to me. Perhaps that’s where my desire for form began—not just as surface, but as something that holds a deeper presence.

I work figuratively, in a contemporary realism that blends memory and immediacy. What interests me lies between the visible: psychological tension, gestures that speak without words. Hands often become extensions of inner speech—carriers of visual puns, layered meaning, irony. They point beyond the body, toward something unsaid yet deeply felt.

Oil painting gives me the depth and physicality I need. Four years ago, I began working with lithography—a medium that shifts my perspective and sharpens my understanding of painting. I draw from mythology, philosophy, and systemic psychology—not academically, but as sources of resonance.

My figures seem both present and distant, as if suspended in time. Their stories remain open. I trust the image as a space that suggests rather than explains. Some paintings arrive fully formed in my mind—and stay there until I finally paint them.

I believe in the power of suggestion. In the quiet between lines. And in the idea that a painting may know more than I do.


https://kurtstimmeder.com/