Michael Kunze
Closed Door Day / Patusan, 2012

Artist
Michael Kunze

Title
Closed Door Day / Patusan

Year of creation
2012

Technique and dimensions
oil on canvas, 240 x 205 cm

Year of acquisition
2013

Acquisition of the foundation

Michael Kunze (born 1961 in Munich) creates metaworlds in his paintings based on complex references from philosophy, film, literature, art and cultural history. On the one hand, the utopian-looking scenes are formally reminiscent of an artistic language from bygone eras, such as that of the Renaissance or avant-garde movements of classical modernism. At the same time, the apocalyptic landscapes and architectural collages in Michael Kunze's pictures also cite a very contemporary, futuristic-looking cyber aesthetic of virtual computer game backdrops. Kunze, who studied musicology and art history before studying at the Munich Art Academy, uses his work to examine the paradigms of modernity and the proclaimed unique selling points that artistic production stands for in the first half of the 20th century.

This is also the case in the work “Day of the Closed Door / Patusan” from 2012, for which the 1900 novel “Lord Jim” by Joseph Conrad represents a clear interdisciplinary reference. Conrad tells the story of the anti-hero Lord Jim, who, as a sailor during a shipwreck, decides to save his own life with the captain instead of helping the rest of the crew. The two castaways end up stranded on the coast of the fictional island of Patusan in the East Indies, where Lord Jim, despite intensive efforts to be accepted by the native population, is ultimately killed by them. The moral dilemma of the individual in a modern society and the blind spot of European colonial history are critically examined in this labyrinthine narrative.

Michael Kunze's painting can be read as an interpretation of this event and takes up various motifs and symbols from Conrad's novel. The three figures that Kunze has draped sitting around a table on a stage-like structure against a blue background are fragmented to the point of facelessness and thus remain completely anonymous to the viewer. The decor-like chairs and the suit of one of the figures are clear indications of a Western-civilized imagery and form a strong contrast to the rough, archaic-looking architectural construct, which seems to have fallen completely out of time. This temple-like geometric abstraction, a recurring motif in Kunze's compositions, is a clear break with the playful furnishings, on which a blue peacock sits enthroned and looks towards the seating area. The peacock not only symbolically represents one of humanity's first pet birds and represents the arrogance among animals, but is also considered a sacred bird in India and adorned the British colonial flag of Burma in the 20th century.

In his pictures, Michael Kunze creates a very intelligent and profound criticism of the seemingly irrefutable foundations of the canon of modern painting. Using an almost virtuoso old master painting technique, he sketches scenarios of a possible future between the worlds in a highly visionary way and reflects on his own current field of activity. His works leave many questions open and thus proclaim the impossibility of closure.