Stefan Szczesny

Born in Munich, April 9, 1951, in the 80s, he achieved international fame as an exponent and protagonist of the "Young Savages". Stefan Szczesny was born in Munich, the son of playwright Martha Meuffels and writer Gerhard Szczesny. After high school he attended a private school of free and applied art in Munich from 1967 to 1969, before undertaking the course of studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and following the course of studies in 'History of Art and Philosophy at the University of Munich as a visiting student.

During his university years, Stefan Szczesny worked as a freelance art critic for the Abendzeitung in Munich. In 1974 he married Mechthild Moldenhauer. In 1975/76 he was a DAAD scholarship holder in Paris, where his son David was also born. In 1979 their daughter Sarah was born. In 1980, a stay as a guest at the Villa Romana in Florence follows, where he is confronted in depth with the Italian Renaissance.

In 1981 he moved to Cologne where he organized the exhibition Rundschau Deutschland, as a protagonist of the "New Wild German Painting" in Cologne and Munich.

In 1982/83, he received the Rome Prize from the Prussian Academy of Arts: stay at the Villa Massimo in Rome, where he dealt intensely with ancient Roman art.

In 1987 and 1989, the sons Roman and Aurel were born. From 1984 to 1988, Stefan Szczesny published the magazine Malerei•Painting•Peinture In the winter of 1990, he traveled to the Caribbean for the first time, where he began to work on the Jamaica series and on the "Streifenbilder" paintings (striped paintings).

In 1991/92 he took over the artistic direction of the staging of Dunkles Haus at the Bayerische Staatsoper (Bavarian State Opera) In the same year he also took care of the artistic preparation of the staging of " Intrigue and love".

With Elvira Bach, he traveled to Sicily in 1993 to participate in the Fiumara d'Arte project.

In 1994, the artist moved his studio to New York.

In 1995, the Voltaire project in Potsdam, the Lindencorso project in Berlin and the first stays on the island of Mustique follow. A year later, he founded the factory in Szczesny, and the first publications in the associated editions followed.

In 1998 Stefan Szczesny started with the Kempinski Art Project and worked in Murano on glass sculptures.

In 1999, he married Eva Klein in Mustique, with whom he has two sons, Felix (born in 1997) and Anton (born in 2000).

In 2000, on behalf of the WWF, he created the Weltkarte des Lebens for the international exhibition Expo 2000. The following year, he moved into his new studio Les Mas des Palmiers in Saint Tropez. There follows a working stay in Seville which ends with an exhibition.

In 2002, Szczesny - The Movie (directed by Curt Faudon New York) was released and premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival.

In 2003/04 he started working on the ceramic sculptures of the Villa Soleil Terre Blanche project in Tourettes and on the program of the art project Le Roc.

In 2005, a personal exhibition by the artist entitled Flowers and Fruits inaugurated the Galerie Ludorff in Düsseldorf.

In addition, Szczesny inaugurated in 2006 the Szczesny Factory Berlin and the exhibition Schattenskulpturen (Shadow Sculptures) in Saint Tropez.

In 2007, after two years of preparation, the project Mainau Island: Szczesny 2007: A Dream of Heaven on Earth took off, in which Stefan Szczesny transformed the island in Lake Constance into a world work of art.

In 2008, Stefan Szczesny realized an international project at Stuttgart airport, entitled: Ausflug in die Sinnlichkeit (Excursion into sensuality).

In 2009/2010, 32 impressive sculptures were created in Miami, which were exhibited in the grounds of the Biltmore Hotel at Art Basel Miami The sculptures were later exhibited during Art Palm Beach at the Palm Beach Convention Center.

Stefan Szczesny lives and works in Saint Tropez (first residence) and in Berlin Solo exhibitions: 1983 Villa Massimo, Rome 1984 Metamorphosis, glypotheca and state collection of ancient art, Munich 1986 Rhineland Regional Museum, Bonn 1997 Szczesny - Works 1975 - 1996, House in Lützowplatz, Berlin 1997 Sculptures & Ceramics, Badisches Landesmuseum, Karlsruhe 1998 Paintings from the Côte d'Azur, Kunsthalle Emden 1998 La joie de vivre, Museo del Grabado Español, Contemporáneo, Marbella 1999 Paintings from the Côte d'Azur, Museum of Modern Art Foundation Wörlen, Passau 1999 Szczesny – Glass & Ceramics, Museum of potery Mettlach 1999 Art and architecture, Galerie d'architecture, Munich 2001 Painting meets photography, Villa Dessauer Museum, Bamberg 2001 „Luxe, calm and voluptuousness ... or the joy of living“, La Malmaison Museum, Cannes 2002 artrium, Geneva 2003 Fiesta.

A feast for the eyes, Gustav Lübcke Museum, Hamm 2004 Bargemon, Mediterráneo - La Estética del Sud, Ses Voltes - Exhibition Center, Palma de Mallorca 2007 Villa Aurelia, Fréjus 2007 Painting on photography, shadow sculptures, City of Cannes 2007 Szczesny , A Dream of Heaven on Earth - Mainau Island 2008 Szczesny, Sternberg Lounge - Düsseldorf 2008 Szczesny, A Summer on the Tegernsee - Tegernsee 2009 Szczesny, Shadow Sculptures at the Biltmore Hotel Coral Gables - Miami 2010 Szczesny, Shadow Sculptures at the Convention Center Palm Beach. His works can be found in the following public collections: Lenbachhaus Munich Kunsthalle Emden Kunsthalle Bremen Kunsthalle Mannheim Kunsthalle Kiel Linz Museum City Gallery of Modern Art Munich Regional Museum of Rhineland Bonn.