Let the Distance keep us Together

Walter Dahn passed away on November 7, 2024, just a few days after the opening of his solo exhibition ‘Have Love Will Travel’ at Haus Mödrath on October 20. We had the great privilege of experiencing a particularly wonderful and intensive preparation and build-up phase with Walter. In countless conversations, he repeatedly referred to his time as a teacher in Braunschweig - above all because of ‘his’ students. He was in intensive dialogue with some of his students. It was always about art, music and film. Always ‘at eye level’, as Walter constantly emphasised. For years, even decades. ‘Let's see’, “look here” or “what do you think of this...” - this is how the exchange, the mutual interest, the expression of mutual appreciation often began. They were more, much more than just his ‘students’. For Walter, they were fellow artists with equal rights. But more than that, they were his friends, actually already part of his family, an integral part of his cosmos.

And we can now bring these close student family friends together again in a small series of exhibitions. With genuine enthusiasm and conviction, they all agreed spontaneously. They are sure that Walter would love it. And because Walter Dahn's exhibition will run for another eight months until the end of August 2025 at Haus Mödrath, we have the fantastic opportunity to showcase one of these artists every month in our studio in the basement.
 

FRIEDRICH KUNATH

Friedrich Kunath creates works which converge the banal with the extraordinary, embracing counterpoints and uncovering universal emotional experiences such as loss, hope, fear, celebration and love. Often taking the form of idealised landscapes layered with poetic phrases, works by Kunath have been known to feature anything from a postcard to a perfume scent, pulling from a vortex of references.

Kunath’s oeuvre spans painting, drawing, installation, sculpture and video. Informed by the artist’s own personal history, but also music, German Romanticism and American pop culture, the works are imbued with both tradition and modernity. With an equally diverse subject matter, they illustrate themes of tragedy, comedy and romance, freely shifting between the three and occupying a unique space between irony and sincerity.

‘This sense of homesickness permeates my complete oeuvre – this aspect of the ambiguity of our existence. To paint or to make these works is to feel at home. To feel found, to feel understood.’

F. Kunath in conversation with K. Bech Dyg, ‘Friedrich Kunath – The Way I Work’, for the Louisiana Channel, 2021

Friedrich Kunath, born in Chemnitz in 1974, was a student of Walter Dahn at the Braunschweig University of Art from 1993 to 1998. He lives and works in Pasadena near Los Angeles.