Stohead

Cologne

Stohead, has been in the game a long time. When he talks about the early days of his career as a graffiti artist, his narrative is dotted with historic moments that defined him, his works, and Germany’s graffiti culture. The 39-year-old artist, whose real name is Christoph Häßler, has influenced the evolution of German graffiti from a subculture associated with vandalism to a form of contemporary art gracing museums and private collections worldwide.

Stohead is best known for combining a graffiti-based style with classical calligraphy to produce letters that are at once figurative and abstract. Under intense physical duress, he paints letters in individual strokes, using broad-tipped, traditional round-tipped or homemade instruments to achieve an expressive work recounting both invisible and raw emotion. His approach – which is ruminant yet harsh, extensive and stringent – recalls a type of performance art. By all means, Stohead describes his style as contemporary calligraphy and terms it Radicalligraphy, a designation that explains both his method and his current solo show.

Stohead

Ruttkowski;68

August 2 – September 15, 2013
Bismarckstr. 68
50672 Cologne
Germany

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