Max Theo Kehl lives and works in Munich, in 2019 he graduated from the Munich Academy of Fine Arts under Professor Olaf Metzel. The artist works predominantly as a portrait draftsman. In the genre of portraiture, he sees the best possibility to capture the essence of the human being.

Drawing on paper, Max Kehl often combines with monotype, a printmaking process that allows only one impression. All works in this technique are unique. So fine black lines of monotype are printed on classically, objectively drawn portraits. They set accents and at the same time contribute to the dissolution of objectivity, which is quite characteristic of the artist's style, which he himself describes as "minimalist realism". This style is elegant, characterized by sovereign line work and emphasis of striking features, it reveals a preference for experiment. Strong expression always goes hand in hand with the lightness of composition, physicality is dematerialized, among other things, through monotypic processes, so that a certain degree of spiritualization and abstraction is achieved in the representations.

The artist's stylistic models lie in late symbolism and in the early work of Pablo Picasso (Blue Period!), which is characterized by a penchant for dramatic grace and experiment. Max Kehl's pictures skillfully combine the feeling and aesthetics of this era with a modernity and a striking personal style.

Text: Dr. Olena Balun

You can find the subjects on the respective event page of Don Pasquale and L'Amico Fritz .