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Grown up in Bovenau near
Kiel in
Schleswig-Holstein as a son of a policeman, Ingo Kühl attended the
Theodor-Storm-Realschule in
Hanerau-Hademarschen. After a traineeship as a
carpenter and a
drafter he studied architecture at the
Kiel University of Applied Sciences. From 1977 to 1982, he studied architecture and fine arts at the
Berlin University of the Arts. At that time
Surrealism influenced his drawings dealing with architectural fantasies.[1]
Motivated by an encounter with the painter
Heinz Trökes in 1979, he turned towards painting. He traveled throughout Europe using his first sketchbooks. In 1977 a trip to Israel,
Sinai Peninsula, followed. In 1978 he participated in an excursion to
Teheran led by Prof. Rainer Ernst, with a sojourn in
Isfahan.
Additional to his Berlin artist's studio he ran a studio on the North Sea peninsula
Eiderstedt (from 1980 to 1994), followed by studios on the North Sea islands
Amrum an
Nordstrand. Since 2002
Sylt has been his preferred domicile. In 1982 he had a studio in
Brooklyn, New York. In 1984 he became a Member of the Chamber of Architects Berlin as a "self-employed architect" and tried to build one of
Hermann Finsterlin's Architecture Visions.[2][3] In 1987 he resigned from the Chamber of Architects to devote himself entirely to painting. In 1988 he published the book "Luft und Wasser – Gedichte und Bilder" together with
Sarah Kirsch in the
Steidl Verlag.[4] The first bronze casting of an Architectural Sculpture was realized.
Travels followed to
Chile, where he painted the Picture cycle "Landscapes of the End of the World" (2005)[7] in
Tierra del Fuego and circumnavigated
Cape Horn on board of a sailing yacht (2009).[8][9] In
Papua New Guinea he worked together with the indigenous sculptor Tomulopa Deko. The two explored the
Sepik area (2010).[10] In 2012 he returned to Papua New Guinea with his wife and both traveled in company with Tomulopa Deko to the Sepik River again. Afterwards they visited the
Trobriand Islands, where Ingo Kühl studied the
Kula culture.
In 2019 he took part in the project "Tisch am Kliff" (Table on the Cliff): Two bronze plates each on the theme of 5000 years of Sylt history designed and assembled into a table plate by five artists, set up on the
Wadden Sea in the immediate vicinity of the Sylt Museum in
Keitum.[11]
In his early work, echoes of
Surrealism,
Abstract Expressionism,
Action painting and
Tachism can be recognized. From 1983 he dealt with
Landscape painting and after a phase of almost
monochrome non-representational pictures that are reminiscent of the work of
Gotthard Graubner, he turned back to paintings based on natural phenomena. The series of pictures Färöer (
Faroe Islands) (1995)[12] and Winterreise (based on
Franz Schubert) (1995/96)[13][14] were created. In 1998 he painted four large-format oil paintings on the subject of Vier Jahreszeiten (Four Seasons) for the Johanniter Hospital in Fläming in
Treuenbrietzen.[15] These were followed by picture cycles such as Landschaften am Ende der Welt (2005)[7] and Das Haus am Watt (House on the Mudflats) (2015).[16]
"Architektur (Brücke) in Schneelandschaft" 1980, oil on cotton, 200 × 130 cm
"Farbraum" 1986, oil on canvas, 100 × 100 cm, Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesmuseen,
Schloss Gottorf, Schleswig
"Färöer II" from the picture cycle Färöer, 1995, oil on cotton, 120 x 120 cm
"Die Nebensonnen" from the picture cycle Winterreise after Franz Schubert 1996, oil on canvas, 160 × 160 cm
"Gletscher (
Beagle-Kanal)" from the picture cycle Landschaften am Ende der Welt, painted in
Punta Arenas 2005, oil on cotton, 40 × 60 cm
"Zwischen Himmel und Erde" 2008, oil on cotton, 200 × 300 cm, Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesmuseen, Schloss Gottorf, Schleswig
"The Sea IV" 2012, oil on canvas, 101 × 182 cm, painted in
Vanuatu
"Seebild" 2014, oil on canvas, 150 × 200 cm
"Haus am Watt" 2015, oil on canvas, 150 × 200 cm
"Bewegtes Meer III" 2020, oil on canvas, 250 × 570 cm (three-part), in the Berlin studio
Sculptural works
Since 1986 he has been making sculptures in clay and plaster based on his drawings on the subject of architecture fantasies, one of them was
cast in bronze in the art foundry
Hermann Noack in 1988. It served as a model for an accessible, unfinished and temporary architectural sculpture The Eighth Day on the Obermarkt in
Görlitz (1996) as well as for several casts in plaster,
acrystal and
zellan.[17] Furthermore, he created eight colored
reliefs of clay on the subject of
Beatitudes of the
Sermon on the Mount for the senior citizens' home next to the Christ Church in Görlitz (1997) and the five-part series West Coast, inspired by the
West Coast of New Zealand. In 2008 three Architectural Sculptures entitled Raum – die ganze Stadt (Space – The Whole City) were cast in bronze. An enlarged version of the Architecture Sculpture of 1988 was produced in 2009 (on a scale of 5: 1) and shown in the exhibition Art on the Beach in
Rantum on Sylt. In 2010 in Keitum on Sylt he created together with Tomulopa Deko from Papua New Guinea two carved and colored sculptures Wedding Chairs in the form of
Kundu drums. In 2019 the bronze relief Boat in a moving sea was created.
"Architektur-Skulptur", 1988, bronze, 69 × 35 × 20 cm
"Architektur-Skulptur", 2009, Epoxidharz, 400 × 220 × 110 cm
"Tisch am Kliff" in
Keitum / Sylt, bronze reliefs, Wal in bewegter See and Hügelgrab, 2019
"Boot in bewegter See", 2019, bronze relief, 31 × 31 × 8 cm
Graphics
Engineering- and
architectural drawings were followed by studies according to the
Old and New Masters and things from the visible world.
The graphic work includes drawings, works oil on paper, watercolors, lithographs and etchings. He published graphics, for example in the "Vor Island" ("Before Iceland") map, which he produced before traveling to
Iceland.[18]
"
Theodor Storm", 1980 drawing, pastel chalk on paper, 30 × 21 cm
"Vor Island", 1996, cover of the map with 5 color lithographs
Oil paintings are usually signed on the back (and provided with a catalog raisonné number), while works on paper are signed, numbered and dated on the front and prints under the motif. The signature is engraved on sculptures.
Arte Europeia Contemporânea – Colecção Marie e Volker Huber, with João Cutileiro, José de Guimarães, Günter Grass, Heribert C. Ottersbach,
Blek le Rat among others, Antigo mercado municipal de
Portimão, Portugal, 1993.[39]
Felsenküste – Azoren, Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landesmuseum, Norddeutsche Galerie / North German Gallery, Schloss Gottorf, Schleswig, with almost 150 exhibits from the museum's holdings from the time of the
First World War to the present day, including works by
Käthe Kollwitz,
Emil Nolde,
Ernst Barlach,
Wenzel Hablik,
Oskar Kokoschka, Karl Hartung,
Jonathan Meese and the North German realists around Nikolaus Störtenbecker, since 2018.[42][43]
H2O, Galerie Michael W. Schmalfuss, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin 2020/2021.[44]
Glanzstücke. Bilder aus der Sammlung with Otto Eglau, Carl Christian Feddersen, Martin Frost, Willem Grimm, Hugo Köcke, Siegward Sprotte, Will Sohl, Helene Varges, Wolfgang Werkmeister among others, 2023.[47]
Architektur-Phantasien, Silkscreen prints, hand-colored, texts by
Curt Grützmacher and Ingo Kühl, 1981.[55]
Zeichnungen 1976–81, exhibition catalogue, Zentrale Hochschulbibliothek of the
Hochschule der Künste Berlin, No. 1–99 with Original-Drawing, 1982.[56]
Nordsee-Bilder 1980–1983, No. 1–20 with an Original picture, 1983.[57]
Hommage à
Hermann Finsterlin. In: Exhibition catalogue Kunstimpulse II – Hommage – Künstler zu Werken von Künstlern, p. 10, Obere Galerie – Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin 1984.[58]
Paul Scheerbart Ingo Kühl Glasarchitektur, Texts Paul Scheerbart (1914) and Curt Grützmacher (editor), with 48 Silkscreen prints by Ingo Kühl, 1988.[59]
Gezeiten. In: Ingo Kühl Gezeiten 1989–1990, with a foreword by Curt Grützmacher, Berlin 1992.[60] Republished in: Ingo Kühl – Auf dem Weg ins Unbekannte. p. 52, Kettler Kunst, Bönen 2007,
ISBN978-3-939825-32-6.
Winterreise – 24 Bilder zum gleichnamigen Liederzyklus von
Franz Schubert – nach Gedichten von
Wilhelm Müller – gemalt nach der Interpretation von
Barry McDaniel, Gesang – Jonathan Alder, Klavier, Text Margret Schütte, Berlin 1996.[14]
Färöer – Bilderzyklus 15 Aquarelle · 9 Ölbilder, Berlin 1998.[62]
Sea and Sky, exhibition catalogue, Galeria de Arte Vale do Lobo, Algarve, Portugal, Loulé 2002.[63]
Nordsee – Südsee. Ölbilder · Arbeiten auf Papier · Tonreliefs 2002–2003, Texts by Maria-Gesine Thies and Markus Schindlbeck, exhibition catalogue Südsee-Wellen – Bilder von Ingo Kühl at the
Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin, 2004,
ISBN3-86530-001-4.
Macht der Natur – Bilder von Ingo Kühl auf Sylt gemalt, 2005,
ISBN3-7793-1097-X.
Landschaften am Ende der Welt – Bilder von Ingo Kühl in Patagonien und Feuerland gemalt / Paisajes del fin del mundo – Cuadros de Ingo Kühl pintados en la
Patagonia y
Tierra del Fuego, Texts
Antonio Skármeta and Ingo Kühl, Berlin 2006.[7]
Ars Borealis – Edition zur Zeitgenössischen Kunst im Norden – Ingo Kühl Sylt, with Texts by Heinz Spielmann, Traugott Giesen, Petra Reiber and Rainer W. Ernst, Sparkassenstiftung Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel 2009.[65]
Papua New Guinea, Text by Ingo Kühl (German / English), 2011,
ISBN978-3-86206-122-8.
Architectural Fantasies with Texts by Heinz Spielmann, Rainer W. Ernst and Ingo Kühl and catalogues raisonné of the drawings, paintings, sculptures" (German / English) 2015,
ISBN978-3-86206-470-0.[66]
In der Nähe des Meeres – Monografie und Werkverzeichnis der Ölbilder 2007–2017 with texts by Heinz Spielmann, Bernd Brandes-Druba and Uwe Haupenthal. Supplement to the monograph "Auf dem Weg ins Unbekannte" (2007), published on the occasion of an exhibition held at Nordfriesland Museum, Nissenhaus Husum, 22 April – 17 June 2018, Verlag Kettler, Dortmund 2018,
ISBN978-3-86206-693-3.[68]
The Wise Tree, text by Behzad Nashat, illustrated by Ingo Kühl, 2019, also published in German and French,
ISBN978-3-89468-291-0.[69]
Sylt literarisch „An diesem erschütternden Meere habe ich tief gelebt“ with watercolors by Ingo Kühl, published by Werner Irro, 2021,
ISBN978-3-8319-0806-6.[70]
Kraft der Elemente auf Sylt. Bilder von Ingo Kühl und Märchen der Welt, erzählt von Linde Knoch, 2022,
ISBN978-3-8319-0805-9.[71]
Tagebuch eines Malers, biography of Ingo Kühl published by Werner Irro, 2023,
ISBN978-3-98741-065-9.[72]
Writings about Ingo Kühl
Heinz Ohff: "Architektur-Phantasien" von Ingo Kühl. In: Der Tagesspiegel, Berlin, 21 March 1982.
Curt Grützmacher: Ingo Kühl Von der Nordseelandschaft zum Farbraum. In: Werkstattbesuche bei Künstlern in
Berlin-Wedding, p. 25, FAB Verlag, Berlin 1989,
ISBN3-927551-03-1.
Heinz Spielmann: Ingo Kühl Farbraum 1986. In: Jahrbuch des Schleswig-Holsteinischen Landesmuseums,
Schloss Gottorf, Band II 1988–1989, p. 288, Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1990,
ISBN978-3-529-02752-9.
Gisela Weimann: Ingo Kühl. In: Ein Paradox zieht Kreise – Das Lebendige Museum wird zur Institution, Galerie Lebendiges Museum, Berlin 1990.[73]
Karl Waldeback: Visitor Artist exhibits in Port Vila In: Trading Post, Port Vila, Vanuatu, 9 June 2002.[74]
Marisol Retamal: Artista aleman llego a la zona para captar los paisajes australes. In: La Prensa Austral,
Punta Arenas, Chile, 16 November 2005.
Andrea Rohmann: Architektur-Phantasien. Auf dem Weg ins Unbekannte. In: "Sylt Coordinates" No. 6, pp. 28–33, HC-Verlag Rohmann Jensen, Reinbeck 2010,
ISSN1865-9071.[75]
Ute Jung-Kaiser: "... das Irren in einem Winter". Die endlos Wandernden – Der Leiermann in der Bildenden Kunst. In: Der Sänger Franz Schubert – Seelische Virtuosität in Text, Musik und Bild, pp. 200–201 + pp. 210–212 (Illustrations), Lit Verlag, Berlin 2013,
ISBN978-3-643-11701-4.
Thomas Gädeke: Wolkenbogen ziehen krönend – Sylt in der Malerei der Gegenwart. In: Sylt – entdecken, erleben genießen. pp. 91–93, Ellert & Richter Verlag, Hamburg 2015,
ISBN978-3-8319-0601-7.
Articles about Ingo Kühl in encyclopedias
Wer ist wer? Das Deutsche Who's Who, Verlag Schmidt-Römhild, Lübeck, since 1990.[76]
^Kühl, Ingo (1982).
"Ingo Kühl – Zeichnungen". Hochschule der Künste Berlin – via worldcat.org. Dadabase The Museum of Modern Art, Franklin Furnace Collection, N.Y.
^Kühl, Ingo (2015).
Das Haus am Watt. Edition SchöneBücher. Kettler Verlag, Dortmund / Edition Schöne Bücher.
ISBN9783862064847 – via Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.